


Wings of Shadow

by DawnOfMan



Category: League of Legends
Genre: A continuation of a previous relationship, Canonical Character Death, Chapter 7 is smut, Child Death, F/M, I cant put up some tags or it will give too many spoilers, Story will have some dubious content that some may find disturbing, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-30
Updated: 2018-07-09
Packaged: 2018-11-21 16:04:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 11
Words: 27,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11360844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DawnOfMan/pseuds/DawnOfMan
Summary: Talon is being hunted, however its Quinn who gets the brunt of his attack. After some things go wrong when they are children Quinn joins the Demacian ranks and Talon resides in Noxus. Files are stolen and its up to Quinn to get them back but its not that easy. Lux is in Noxus on her own mission and something goes horrifically wrong. Now Quinn is on a countdown to find Lux and Talon needs to find Quinn before something bad happens to her too.





	1. A Demacian and a Cold

**Author's Note:**

> Give a kudos and a comment when you're done for more! People seem to read my Rakan one a LOT! So I hope you like this one just as much!  
> I do requests as well so feel free to put something in the comments ^^

His grasp around her throat tightened. Another one sent to kill him. There seemed to be a never ending stream of men and women that were instructed to eliminate the pest of Noxus. None such had lived; even some talented, better known, assassins had met their end by his blade. One such encounter had caused such a fuss that he was forced to leave the dense, dirty underground streets, of the Noxian shanty in favour of the woodland on the outskirts of the territory above. Out here it even the air felt lighter. Each breath was refreshing and cool instead of recycled and tepid. Here there was no money for him to steal, no pockets for him to pick, just the ambient sounds of birds and the rustling of trees. At first every little crack of sticks underfoot or flap of birds wings had sent him into defence with his blade gripped tightly in his grubby hand. However the more he ventured out here, the more he began to enjoy traversing the interlocking tree branches above the dappled floor below. He would often, when not pillaging people’s homes for sellable items, come out here and enjoy the hot midday sun on his pale skin or the twilight calls of birds in the evening.

He had been out here doing just that. Relaxed against a tree, still and calm, eyes closed. The last of the light was waning and under the canopy; it was getting darker much quicker under the foliage than the areas around where the trees were spaced further apart. This was his sanctum, his space where he could relax without fear of having a knife slashed across his throat. His eyes flicked open at the sound of footsteps through the undergrowth. They were quieter than what he had expected for a person just strolling. Talon immediately took to the branches and crouched. His skinny form was much smaller and harder to spot this way, especially now there was very little light. Fingers on one hand clutched his blade; the other steadied him against the rough tree trunk. In this position he had the advantage on anyone stupid enough to now show their face. He would strike first, swiftly, quickly, so that his little piece of respite would be safe.

A young girl; below him was a dark auburn haired girl around his age though more well fed and cleaner. She had Demacian commoner’s attire on, a pair of deep blue trousers and white cotton shirt. Over her shoulders was a knapsack, even her coat had been draped over the bag to make it easier to carry. Nothing was special about her outfit but the girl was recognisable from the rival city by the way her clothes were expertly made, even for those not of nobility. Demacian’s took pride in their image. He would feel no remorse helping pick off the stupid children that ventured too far out from home before they could protect themselves, especially to stray into Noxian land and get away with it. What had that imbecile been thinking? Nonetheless he moved forward on his perch and dropped down from above. Shock was the first emotion that ran through him. His trusty knife that had slain many foes with the preliminary hit had been blocked by a mere child. Her reactions were certainly underestimated. She swung around and threw a small knife back at him. Had she always been carrying that in her hand? He easily side stepped it and swung again, she did the same to him. This girl was very light on her feet and fast. Now on the same level as her he could see more of her face. She had delicate features, pretty by all accounts, not that he had ever loved anything more than the jingle of coins and the warmth of blood from a kill. The most striking feature was her large amber eyes. He had not seen that particular colour on Noxian’s before and it interested him, though only briefly. Talon could see he was the better fighter by far; he had hit her a few times, more like glanced, which were now bleeding onto the white shirt of hers. The little spots became bigger and looked more like targets on her chest than speckles. The boy found himself playing with her. None of his blows would have killed the girl outright but he was wearing her down. He was enjoying the spar now once he had ascertained that she was no consequence to his life at all. She however was still fighting for her life. Her stubbornness to cling to this world mimicked his. Plus she was not exactly like the other common children of Demacia, she did know something about fighting and she did not give up when scars would litter the perfect slightly tanned skin. In a ditch attempt to get him to stop she had even wrapped her knapsack around his hand and wrestled his knife away from his grasp. The blade now lay under some leaves that had been kicked up in the ensuing hand to hand scuffle. 

He was getting bored now, it was his time to end this trivial fight. He took her by her hair and dragged hard backwards so she fell flat on her back with a loud “oomf” as the air was forcibly knocked out of her. He straddled her waist and sat on her to keep her as still as he could. He didn’t have a weight advantage on her but being slightly taller and a proficient fighter he kept her down. His hands wrapped around her throat and his grasp tightened. She let out a choked “please”, pleading for his mercy. This one looked more fearful than the rest of the people he had executed. Her amber eyes, bulging from the pressure of his hand were confused, terrified and stared up at him to let her go. She was shaking and clawed at his hands which left gouge marks in his skin and where she caught her neck. She was just a child like him. The deep furrow on his brow never faltered but his hands began to release. The girl was choking, desperately trying to get air back into her lungs while he just sat the on top of her, contemplating what he had just done. 

Her hands were rubbing at her neck. It had already started to bruise and her voice was hoarse. “Thank you” she coughed. Talon was confused by this. He had legitimately just tried to kill her and now she was thanking him? It was because he stopped and spared her yes, but even so, the whole act should not be... thanked. “Who are you” Talon demanded, his voice barely on the verge of breaking. The girl responded by looking away. He took her chin in his hand and pulled her gaze back onto him, “What is your name?!” he demanded yet again. “Quinn” she squeaked out. She was still bleeding from the cuts and winced when she tried to move. “Stay still” Talon instructed and got up from her midriff. Quinn, exhausted, heeded his warning and did not get up. She watched him climb into the tree but drop down a few seconds later with a small bag of his own. Inside were some medical items such as unused needles, thread and gauze. Since he was being constantly hunted he took precautions if he was to get injured.

He must have been mad. Patching up someone he should have killed. Those eyes had gotten to him. He poured some bottled water on his hands and washed them the best he could with a small bar of soap. Quinn, who had been quiet thus far as the male then held her in his rough fingers, now spoke, “you’re Noxian, aren’t you”. He stopped, her words jarring him. “Yes, what of it Demacian?” he barked back. He looked up at her while tending to a gash across her thigh. The knife had sliced though her trousers like butter but the hole was not big enough to sew it up though. “You were going to kill me” she spoke hoarsely. “No shit” he replied and yanked almost the entire leg of the garment off. She winced, the jolt bringing a few tears to the corners of her eyes. Now she was looking down at him and his next gaze up was held a little too long. They both stared at each other until he broke it off to continue.

Talon felt an uneasy feeling in his chest. Something he had not felt before. It was completely alien to him. His cheeks were flushed and he felt hot. Maybe he was coming down with something. That would make his day... a Demacian and a cold. He carefully pressed the needle through her flesh and bound the two sides together. It wasn’t a neat job by any standards but it stopped anymore blood loss. Almost all the light had gone from under the trees and Talon could no longer see what he was doing, there was a clearing a little way from here but she was looking pale and with a wound like that walking would be difficult. “Why were you out here?” he asked her, shouldering the girl and almost dragging her to the spot he had in mind. She did not struggle against him. He figured that she thought he wouldn’t kill her now he wasted his supplies on the wounds he himself had inflicted. “I was playing with my brother” she replied, limping her way with him. She never questioned where they were going which he thought strange. “Where is he now?” Talon asked. He scanned around the brush for an attacker; the girl may have been a ploy to get him off guard so he could be eliminated. “We got separated and I haven’t seen him in a few hours, I kept walking hoping I would find him or a settlement to ask for help” Quinn said. Her voice was coming back slightly but around her neck was a dark angry bruise in the shape of two hands. When her brother saw those he would probably come for him too.

They reached the clearing with only a full moon to light their surroundings. It outlined all of the trees and there was an earthy scent where the rabbits had kicked out some more soil from their expanding warren. Above the stars were perfectly in view, not a cloud covering their celestial glory tonight. This was also something Talon liked about being in the forest. He would sometimes stay out till morning if the night sky was a grand as this, taking time to reflect on his earnings for the day or the slaughter of tomorrow. “It’s beautiful” the girl commented as he sat her down on a log he had previously rolled from the edge of the tree line inward. “What?” he hadn’t realized that she was also looking at the sky with him. This Demacian had bounced back so quickly. Perhaps in Quinn’s mind he had only made a mistake attacking her and by helping made up for it; an eye for an eye. Or maybe she was just that lost and was keeping herself alive using any means possible. Still, the night was perfect and her company wasn’t to be shied at, even if she was Demacian scum. He had not had company like this for a lo-... he had not had company like this. Somewhere deep down inside he liked it.  


Talon finished off binding her other wounds that didn’t need to be stitched and sat down next to her looking out into the light of the night sky. “I suppose you don’t get this view in Noxus” she murmured, careful not to startle him again. “No, that’s why I come here”. She looked across at him. It was the first time she could take in the appearance of the boy she was with. He was slightly taller than her, thin but muscular, mid length brunette hair and brown eyes. He was also pretty grubby with a smear of coal or something of the like across his cheek. “You’ve got a little something...” she murmured. Her finger slowly rose to her own cheek and pointed. Talon frowned and rubbed at his own which incidentally only made the smudge worse. He clenched his teeth and looked away. There she goes, a Demacian thinking she’s better than him because he isn’t spotlessly clean. “Can I get it?” she asked. His face was a mass of confusion and a crimson blush when she reached across and gently rubbed his cheek for him. He was utterly stunned, but he let her! This wasn’t him at all... The pompous Demacians should be killed not get flustered over. Then finally Talon realised why he was feeling hot. Her fingers rested on his cheek and he was staring right into the amber eyes, lips slightly apart in a dumbfounded expression. Quinn had a similar look on her, she swallowed to clear her crushed throat to speak, “will I see you again?” she asked. He cocked his head just slightly and she moved her hand down. There was a long pause but eventually he conceded to the thought, “yes”.

A relieved smile drew across her lips. It was almost as if he had not tried to kill her at all. She was strange. He didn’t mind sharing his time with her though if it was like tonight. He wouldn’t let it show but Talon was quite inwardly pleased with himself. There was still the problem of her brother though... Was he still in the woods or had he found somewhere safe to stay where a gromp wouldn’t swallow him up or where he won’t be attacked by wolves. Another thought about a Demacian’s welfare? He shook his head and grumbled incomprehensively. “Is something wrong?” Quinn asked in earnest. Her blood crisped hand moved a little and brushed his. The boy whipped it up instantly but saw her shocked face and turned away before tentatively putting his hand on hers between them. She was almost as warm as he was despite the chill in the night air. Quinn laughed and then coughed, grasping his palm until she had finished, “shall I meet you tomorrow?”   
Talon nodded, “your parents must be worried”  
“Yours must be too”  
“They are dead”  
Quinn gasped, “I’m sorry...whe-, actually you don’t have to tell me.”  
Talon nodded slightly, “I never knew them, don’t worry”  
The girl rubbed his hand with her thumb and the pair sat for a good hour or so in silence watching the constellations move ever so slightly across the clearing. At some point Quinn’s head had found its way onto his shoulder, “You should get home” he suggested, “I’ll walk you part way, I don’t want you going alone, the Noxian woods aren’t safe even in the day time”.  
“That’s kind of you.” He got up and helped her do the same. She winced and put her weight on him like before. “I’ll wait in the clearing for you at six, but if you’re too weak to make it there by then little Demacian then I won’t wait all night for you.” She smirked and they set off towards Quinn’s home on the outskirts of the Demacian farmlands.


	2. A Noxian and a Headache

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second chapter, I'll hopefully be making this a longer story if I can and I'll upload quickly so check back often!

It took some time for Quinn to return home from the ridge of trees Talon had left her at. He had known the way here surprisingly well considering his lack of citizenship. The fact he knew it despite being unwelcome here was another conundrum that buzzed inside Quinn’s head too. It was clear to her after some pondering that he had definitely been here before, though probably in disguise or hiding in the shadows. He was a smart one she would give him that. She just wished they had met under better circumstances and not had him try to choke the life out of her with his bare hands, or with any tool to be honest. Not having tried to kill her at all would have been ample, although that ordeal was behind her now so she had no reason to dwell. Her positive thinking of Demacian justice has pardoned the boy after he had righted his wrongs. He had made up for what he did and in her books he was absolved of his crime against her. The warrior’s adrenaline he had also given her definitely made her heart beat faster. Her cheeks were a flush as she hobbled through one of the back fields behind her home. Quinn appeared dishevelled, broken as she limped between the potato plants, the moon lighting the way for her clumsy footsteps between plants.

She unlatched the back door and carefully slipped inside. She turned and quietly replaced the latch but as she did her whole body bristled; she was still holding onto the handle as her haunches went up. The burning eyes that blazed at her back were all too easy to feel. Quinn turned slowly and was met by the scorned look of her mother, frowning back at her. The atmosphere inside the cabin was fierce and heavy, the relived part of her mother's fury had obviously not come yet or was just so white washed with anger it was hidden too deep down. “Where have you been!” her mother shouted at her. She took no means to keep her voice down. Their cabin was too far away from others to be a nuisance to neighbours and her brother, who had come home safely hours before, was also being punished for leaving his sister in the woods alone. Sleep was probably not on the menu. The farm was actually the furthest from the city itself. The demand for produce meant the land was needed and the land was not found any closer.

The face of her twin rounded the corner. He had the same dark auburn hair that was shorter than hers, and iridescent blue eyes. Both had pretty features, though the boys were becoming more angled and masculine with puberty. He scuttled at a stern glance from their mother who then trained her eyes on what was left of her daughters clothing. "What happened to you!" she exclaimed now in a blind panic. The emotions running through a weaker woman would have broken them to tears but she gritted her teeth and demanded an answer before she could ever give in to such frailties. Her eyes trained to the bruises on Quinn’s neck and she grimaced. Her baby girl had escaped a fate she could not have conceived for her. "Mum I'm okay, someone, uh," Quinn was thinking hard and fast about an answer that would satisfy the emotional beast of her mother. "Someone what!? Mugged you?-"  
"No!"  
"Raped you?"  
"Oh my gosh no!" Her mother had stewed enough in her own thoughts not to be satiated by just 'no's'. "There was a misunderstanding and they fixed me up, look" Quinn pointed to the bandage on her bare leg. The rest of the material of her trousers Talon had torn had started to drag and now was detached somewhere on the way back from the Noxian woods. "A misunderstanding, you expect me to believe that..."  
"Yes because it’s the truth." Her mother still seething with anger, now for this person who had hurt Quinn had drawn her in for a firm hug. Her daughter winced but squeezed back. She had terrified her and she just needed to let out some steam. "You’re both grounded" she said after a while of awkwardly long hug. It was inevitable but Quinn already had plans to meet the boy back in the clearing at six later on that day. She wouldn’t miss her deadline either, she had promised, at least to herself, that she would and Demacian’s don’t break their promises! She nodded back at her mother who dimmed a little from her inferno. "Go to your room Quinn, we will go to the guard’s first thing in the morning". She opened her mouth to speak but was shushed quickly, "go". The twins were definitely the reason why she worked so hard. After their father died valiantly in battle for the Demacian ranks both had become fiercely patriotic and wanted to join the fight. They believed they would be following what their heroic father would have wanted. Their mother, after feeling such loss for him, held the children back but did not crush their dreams. After all it was an honour to fight for Demacia. Quinn roamed down the hall. It was lined with photographs of the family, baby pictures and little trinkets. Each had their own story. Take for instance the crossbow on the wall. Quinn had beaten her father and brother at shooting the targets in the field a few years ago. Quinn had spotted a brown rabbit near the makeshift shooting range and had taken a shot in hopes of impressing her family, which she inevitably did. They all had so much fun that day and ended with a belly of rabbit stew to boot.

She entered the room with her brother in. He was sitting idle on the top bunk waiting for her with some choice words. "You look like crap. What really happened? We got really worried," he said, "I couldn’t find you and I looked for hours until it got dark, I came back to tell mum but she got really mad at me. Where were you?"  
”I went looking for you; I ended up really far into the Noxian woods, cool right?" She replied with a smile.  
"No wonder you look like crap, they find you?"  
"In a way, but I think I just startled him because he helped me get home."  
Her brother frowned; they had both ventured out there to play. The danger was thrilling and they had some injuries before but nothing like this and nothing they couldn’t just hide from their mother. "What did the guy look like? Probably some old pervert that cut you just to pull off your trousers."  
"Eww that’s disgusting. No he looked about our age, like a homeless boy though"  
"Most Noxian’s look homeless" he laughed. She laughed a little too but thought back to him once again in her mind. He wasn’t just a normal resident of Noxus. He wouldn’t have been so jumpy if he was. He intrigued her. "He was nice looking though and kind," she trailed off and headed into thought for a second. A second too long and her brother had picked up on it. "Don’t you dare tell me you’ve got a-" he looked towards the door and then lowered his voice so their mother wouldn’t hear, "crush on a Noxian". Quinn’s eyes widened, it was all he needed for a definitive answer. Her brother continued in a whisper, "Quinn! You know that’s a bad idea, he’s probably just playing you, that IS what they do to a Demacian piece of meat," Caleb bent his two index and middle fingers up and down together.  
"So I'm a piece of meat now?"  
"About that to them... Anyway, look this guy is clearly dangerous; all he will be is a headache". Quinn slumped down in her bed. The sheets were soft on her abrasions and the mattress was comfortable on her aching muscles. The tiredness she was holding back overcame her in a wave. He didn’t know him. Talon was a nice kid, just a little psycho to those he didn’t know... "I’m going to sleep, goodnight" she murmured, head already positioned on the pillow. "What? No way you have to tell me more."  
"Good. Night." With that she drifted off before her brother could even grumble and turn off the light.

The morning light came swifter than usual. A night awake with the boy from Noxus had drained most of Quinn’s energy for the day’s work ahead but she was the only one still in the bedroom. "Caleb?" No answer. She walked outside into the blazing sun, it was hot today, and raised her hand to shade her eyes. It certainly wasn’t the morning light anymore. They had let her sleep. She secretly thanked her mother knowing full well that she would be disappearing into the woods with a boy she barely knew tonight too. An excuse to leave in this condition would be great right now. 'I’m off to see a friend' or 'joined the army' came to mind but she had a very small circle of friends and only hung out with her brother and the army at this age was a stupid idea to begin with.  
Quinn saw her brother on the fields, and by the position of the sun it was already pushing 1 or 2pm. She had slept for a long time. It had helped though, her leg, though sore could be walked on and the stitches were holding up well. "Caleb!" she called. He looked up from a handful of potatoes and smiled. "Afternoon sleepy head, mum didn’t want you tearing the stitches so I have to do your chores, you owe me one"  
"Yeah whatever, you wandered off like a dog after a squirrel" They both laughed now and were walking closer to meet each other.  
"Caleb can you cover for me tonight?" Quinn asked hesitantly. She thought he would have said no but the complete opposite happened. "Yeah, why? You going to see your boyfriend?" he chuckled at her expense. Her cheeks darkened a hue, "he’s not my boyfriend. He’s a friend that’s a boy... That’s all"  
"Yeah your face isn’t fooling anyone" She turned away and grumbled.  
"You’ll owe me two now" he grinned. It was never easy owing him one because he always acted the prince about it. One time he had got her to clean the horse stable while he sat atop a stack of hay bales pointing and saying 'you missed a spot' until she tried to stab him with the pitchfork. They had ended up play fighting in the end and both had come back filthy, much to the dismay of their mother.

Quinn grinned as she walked back to the cabin. The few hours it would take to get to that part of the woods would kill most of the time between now and six. She couldn’t help but feel excited. It was another adventure for her and she would go fully prepared this time. It was a mission into the deep dark woods beyond enemy lines in the battle of Demacia to retrieve the evil Noxian spy! She played out little scenarios in her head and found herself making the facial expressions. She laughed and packed her brothers bag. Hers had a gaping hole in the back from wrestling the knife away last night with it. Quinn took water, more bandages, some rations and a few more things she thought necessary. She was ready to go and eager to set out. “Sorry mum, adventure calls” she murmured and was about to go out the back door but spied the crossbow on the wall. Quinn lifted it from its hangings and picked up the bolts from the cupboard beside it.  
She left with a large grin and crossed the field again into the woods. An hour in and her feet crunched through the undergrowth. She was much louder than she was when her leg wasn’t impaired but she made haste, only slowing down to sip her drink or rest when the dull ache became too much. She did not want to waste any more time. Her drive to see him really was perplexing but he had really rubbed off on her in their short time together. He was new and exciting... He was dangerous which made him... fun. 

The trees around her rustled softly in breeze as the wind began to pick up. The weather was turning. It didn’t take much in this area as the climate varied a lot in this region. Others had more cloud or constant snow and ice but here it was temperate and pleasant. Quinn had started to limp about half way there. She sat down on a pile of leaves to take the weight off for a while and got out a pouch of biscuits she had brought along for the journey. The sounds of the forest were relaxing but she stayed on guard, even with a mouthful of oatmeal. A repeat of yesterday wouldn’t have gone well for her even with her trusty crossbow bolt hitched and ready to fly. The sun was starting to set overhead but it wouldn’t be down for another hour or so, so she would be able to get there in plenty of time. Quinn began to stalk through, wondering if this really was the right way she was going when she kicked something metallic under the leaves. The knife Talon had used to attack her! It was picked up immediately and she looked at it. Under the dried blood there were engravings on it and the blade looked like it was certainly was too expensive for a homeless boy to buy.

She wrapped the knife in a handkerchief and carefully put it into her bag so it wouldn’t jab her. This was a good sign, she was on the right track and from here she could follow the trail they had made yesterday. Between the drag marks and the broken twigs the path was clear as day. Her vigour renewed Quinn quickly hobbled towards her goal. It was a huge accomplishment getting here while injured like this and she owed it to the strong will of Demacian heritage. It was a little before six so she hadn’t expected him to be here just yet. Maybe he was going to appear behind her to keep her on her toes or scare her like Caleb did at home. So she waited with her finger off the trigger. Another mistaken identity would have been bad. Especially since the crossbow was a little more powerful than a boy with a knife. She waited longer. It was definitely past six now and she was getting impatient. He had told her not to be late but now he was. Was he coming at all? It was too early to tell but he still had time before he was unfashionably late. So she waited some more. A rustle came from the tree line on the other side of the clearing and a figure fell out of it. 


	3. A Stranger and a Sore Throat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The third chapter, I hope I still have you peeps with me, leave a kudos to show me if you do ^^

The form paused on the floor. He just lay there unmoving. It took Quinn a few seconds to comprehend who it was. He was splashed with blood and from this distance she couldn’t tell if he was breathing or not. “Talon!” she shouted. The sound reached him and he slowly crawled to a nearby rock and painfully pushed himself up again onto his feet. Just seeing him like this sent a rush of anxiety through Quinn. She almost dropped her crossbow when she half ran towards him to help but managed to hook it onto her back. Curse that injured leg. She reached him and put her hand instinctively out to grab him which made him finch away. He looked to her through his damp hair. His forehead had been sweating from excursion as had the rest of him. He had definitely been working his body to the limit. "You’re early" he muttered.  
"You’re late" she replied.  
She touched his arm and brought him in closer to her for to support him. This time he didn’t flinch. He leant up against her, too tired to stay completely upright by himself and sort of happy she had shown up. "Glad you came. Thought maybe your parents would have stopped you..."  
"I snuck out, Caleb is covering for me" Quinn said, a concerned expression still on her face.  
"Ah, Caleb is your brother?" She nodded and they went to sit at their spot from last night. "So what happened?" "Long story" he replied. A Demacian didn’t need to hear the story. It was still better to keep secrets. Secrets meant power, as well as being bargaining chips.

He had in fact been fighting for his life again. He didn’t want to tell her, not just because knowledge was power but he didn’t want her to worry. He had been thinking. Using what he gathered from watching other people’s behaviour and translating it to hers he could tell she was sweet on him... And the way she made him feel too was probably just as apparent that he liked her as well. He had never had a close relationship with anyone so it all felt strange and new but he did like the company; having someone to spend time with that wasn’t going to stab him in the back allowed him to relax. It felt good. They sat back at the spot from last night. He put his head on her shoulder and closed his eyes. This was one of the few times he had ever let his guard completely down but he was just too exhausted right now.   
Quinn’s amber eyes watched as his whole body un-tensed. She smiled. He looked so vulnerable like this so she put a protective arm around him. Her mother used to do this when she or Caleb had a nightmare. She would gently caress their hair until they fell back to sleep and carry them back to bed. Quinn started to do just that. Talons eyes flicked open and he started to move but she pushed his head back down. The boy obliged. Her fingers gently stroked him and he settled back down again. "What are you doing?" he murmured. "Shh" she smiled back. His heart instead of slowing began to race. He looked up and saw her beautiful face looking back down at him. “Quinn” he whispered. They were both staring at each other more wide eyed and embarrassed now that they knew what had happened. Talon looked away blushing and shrugged her off him with his last remaining strength. It had got a little too much and frankly it had unnerved him. “What’s wrong?” she asked a little hurt by this. “Nothing” he replied head tilted away and vision placed to the floor. She put her hand on his chin and turned him back. His teeth were gritted and he had his typical hardened face on. That wasn’t going to scare her off so easy, “it’s okay, I want you to,” Quinn mumbled. He flicked his eyes up again to meet her amber gaze. What was she insinuating? Then it dawned on him like the morning light on Mount Targon. She wanted him to kiss her. He was so out of his comfort zone he stood there genuinely stunned. His mouth hung slightly agape but the opening was closed by another’s when Quinn’s lips pressed to his. Talons first kiss. It wasn’t bad... He had seen this before on his scouting missions from some of the Noxian inhabitants, sometimes with girls half their age in tight clothing that covered very little. He knew what to do but his body wouldn’t move despite him wanting to. She broke it off and smiled at him checking for any type of reaction at all that would say to her that he liked it. He pulled the sides of his lips up apprehensively and leant back in to her for another.  
This time he could move his hand to her waist while he went through the awkward motions he wasn’t quite used to yet. He had never imagined doing this with anyone. It wasn’t exactly forefront on his mind, but it made him tingle and for those few minutes his aching body felt unadulterated attraction to this girl. Quinn paused for air, "is this okay?" He nodded and wished he hadn’t. His head was spinning from the fight before and it jolted his brain just a little too much. Talons vision began to blur slightly. His body had really been pushed too far and he definitely felt it. He hadn’t received any life threatening injuries but he hadn’t eaten in a while either which weakened him further. Quinn saw him sway. She moved quickly to catch him before he went completely over the log they were seated on. "Hey, wake up!" There was no answer. He was out cold.  
  
~~~~~  
  
Talon was perched on the top of a building looking down into another through its window. He had every intention of breaking in and every intention of relieving the occupants of some expensive belongings. He was making sure there was no sign of life inside before he did to be safe. It was a Noxian higher ups second home so there was a pattern to when he was here or not. He had been tipped there were some good things within it to steal documents, secrets, but it would be dangerous if he was caught. For that type of bounty he was willing to try. There; the papers on the desk, such a careless mistake. Perhaps the man had been hit one too many times by an axe or sword to think straight tonight. Talon jumped down onto a ledge and ran across the wires between the two buildings. There was no one around the grounds at this time but Talon was still cautious about being seen. He clicked the window that opened easily and shimmied inside. It was fancy, the man had good taste; rugs, velvet, carved wooden furniture. There were also some pictures of children younger than him, a brunette and a red head on the table. Urgh parents being soppy over their kids irked him. Perhaps it was because he was jealous but he had no existing love for his nonexistent family. He grabbed the paper from the desk but felt a cold breeze pass him by like someone walking over his grave. Talon shuddered and ducked as a huge knife hurtled over his head. He quickly turned around. The assassin standing in the room with him was way taller, large for Noxian but leaner, not as muscle bound. He was dressed all in black except for a deep blood red tie. His smart attire was uncommon for Noxus so Talon assumed this person was either not from Noxus or someone very high up in the ranks to be paid enough to afford such an outfit. There was however a painting on the wall of someone who looked very similar that Talon had to take a double take of in haste as he was definitely taking part in an assassination attempt. The knife was stabbed at him again; it had perfect precision and forced Talon into the corner of the room to avoid being fatally struck in his chest. That was a close call. He would have to kill another man before the day was done.

Talon hopped over the table and bounced around slashing with his knife to deflect blows and to attempt to deal his own. The first one to hit him more than twice, this man was definitely a foe to be reckoned with. The chinks of metal sung out in the room as they fought. Fatigue was setting in after a good ten minutes of fighting, though Talon dared not turn his back and run as he would certainly be caught and killed by this man before he got out of the window. An assassin wasn’t cut out for these drawn out battles but this man must have had a substantial amount of training to not show a sign of slowing down. The assailant’s blade caught his arm and a strong hand swung to grab him. The large wound wasn’t deep but it splashed his shirt with deep crimson and stung like it was laced with something to aggravate the gash. Talon took this opportunity to stab at him but instead his wrist was grabbed by a large gloved hand. The grip hurt. His bones felt like they would break if the slightest addition of pressure was given. He growled and kicked the man in the knee. The man swore and swung the boy up against the wall with a loud thud. Talon was tired and sweating and with the force he was pushed had hit his head pretty hard. Amidst the flashing spots of light that only he could see the assassins’ blade neared his face and pushed against his neck. There was no way he could escape from this. The sharp edge dug in and cut the superficial layers of skin. "I know who you are" the man mentioned flatly, "and I know that you are a wanted boy". Talon didn’t move. He was wracking his brain to find out what went wrong. Talons information about who had lived here had obviously been a ploy. He knew that for sure when the man introduced himself as, 'General Du Corteau' and he was there to make a proposition. "You have proven to be a worthy fighter and such talent cannot be wasted so you have a choice. You can die by my blade here and ruin my carpet or you can choose to live." It sounded like a great offer until he added the conditions, "If you choose life you shall devote your entire prowess only to me. You answer to me alone and my word, whatever that is, is what you will carry out as my personal assassin." Talon sneered and the blade started to push harder. "I want to live" he spluttered out quickly before anything vital was nicked. He had finally met his match. The one person he could not beat. He was exhausted and 'Du Corteau', the man whose wrong information was most likely deliberately given to lure him here, was none the worse for wear. "Good choice a Talon". The boy flinched at his name being said. "You will join my family and reside within my house with my two daughters, do not get any ideas, both are proficient fighters and will kill you if they deem it necessary". Talon nodded, the only one he had ever seen that way as Quinn and even that must have been a fluke.

~~~~~

Talons eyes opened. It was now very dark in the clearing and he wasn’t in the last place he was conscious. He had been pulled just inside of the tree line to keep drier. It had started to rain and Quinn thought it wasn’t best to leave him to get soaked. Talon looked up. His head was on Quinn’s lap, just far enough away from the injury that he wouldn’t hurt her. She was lightly snoring against a tree with her arm over him. His cheeks flushed and he found himself staring at her as she slept. He watched the slow rise and fall of her chest and the way her nose twitched every now and again when a water droplet in the air hit it. He carefully sat up but unfortunately in the process woke the sleeping girl who smiled and sighed. "Sorry I was meant to keep a look out"  
"Don’t worry; I should be the one looking out for you." It was surprisingly loud sitting beneath the branches with the rain hammering down. Luckily this was a rather sheltered spot as the tree had a very thick canopy although a few droplets were making it through now the weather had turned torrential. Quinn had chosen the spot well.  
“Are you going to tell me what happened?” She asked again, “because you look like someone tried to kill you this time”  
He shuffled uncomfortably, “yeah, and? I pick a lot of fights, it’s what Noxians do”  
She narrowed her eyes, “I don’t want you dying on me ok?” Her words weren't open to discussion; she clearly didn't want him to.  
Well at least she cared. No one had cared for him like she did. She didn't have to care, he even tried to kill her but she did, very much so and he found himself losing his walls with her even in such a short time because of it. Talon took her cold hand in his and rubbed it with his thumb like she had the night before, “Don’t worry, I am always going to be here for you”.


	4. An Assassin and a Stomach Ache

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't resist uploading 2 chapters in a night!

The children were inseparable during their night time excursions often led by Quinn playing up the childish banter or storytelling of monsters and queens. Talon did not speak as much but he listened. He always sat attentively and watched her every movement when she spoke. She was dramatic and really enjoyed her games of infantile Demacian honour. He enjoyed his time with her. She was a breath of fresh air to him. Each night they would meet and share what they had done that day, more so Quinn as Talon was more resigned about talking about himself. They grew so close that it was considered dating from both parties. Even Caleb became okay with it and had just laughed and told Quinn to man up and just ask her Noxian lover to make it official, but who would they tell? No one, so leaving it like that was fine. They knew anyway and that was just fine to them.

Caleb still spent time with Quinn in the day when they were not at school or working. She would often talk about her boyfriend and that Noxians weren’t all bad but he still had reservations about the others. They were back in the woods for another round of save the innocent. It was a game they played when they were getting bored. Each would take turns being the damsel in distress and sometimes over dramatise the fights which made both of them giggle throughout their lines. “FOR DEMACIA!” Quinn shouted to Caleb as she swung round a large stick around valiantly. She leapt off of rocks and trees in an array of moves she learned to do from Talon. He started to play the role of the beast holding the Demacian noble hostage. “Give up thy hostage foul beast!” she insisted. “Never human stain! Your very being on this land of magic likens to vermin in a food store!” Quinn grimaced and turned the stick upon him. Both were proficient in dodging each other’s attacks until Caleb held his hands out by the sides of his face and roared. This meant to his sister that the ground was shaking so she moved accordingly, falling to her knees from the imaginary vibrations through the ground. “You shall never prevail!” she gasped.  
“And you shall not live to see my end nor the end of your people!”  
“I shall defeat you!”  
“No, I shall be the one to devour your flesh and consume everyone you love!”

Quinn growled and began to chase him around with the stick. Both were laughing as they did so. It was a beautiful moment between siblings. Caleb swiped at her with his hands which in their minds had huge black claws attached and Quinn yelped in pain holding her arm as if he had just cut her badly. “Your blood excites me human! I shall splash it over the trees and relish in your sweet scent!” She mouthed ‘yuck’ to him and he shrugged, it was a monster after all so he would take it as far as he liked depending on his mood or how into it he was. She hit him when he was off guard and he rubbed the sore spot she hit. She shrugged and raised her eyebrows to cue him. He made a dramatic scene as she pretended to slash the monster over and over again until it was dead. “Bleh” he laughed from the floor in a weird and uncomfortable position. Quinn had the giggles from this and as he got up and ran to the next part of the woods for her to find as the hostage she repeated ‘bleh’ to herself a couple of times. She waited, poking the leaves with her stick until she thought he was sufficiently hidden for her to find.

Caleb’s voice could be heard far off in the distance. Okay she would go ‘save’ him now, the ever honourable Demacian protecting valour. She held her head high and set off towards him. Each step crunched more sticks and leaves underfoot. It had been dry the last few days and they had already drunk their water. They weren’t far from home though so it wasn’t too much of an issue. Quinn’s mind slipped back to Talon and how he had been so awkward when she had tried to play like this with him. He really had no clue how to interact with others. He had been better dressed when they had met though. He said that he was staying with someone now who had two daughters that were a couple of years younger than they were. Originally she had been jealous but in the end he just seemed more like a brother to them than anything more.

She heard a scream from the woods she was heading to and that spurred on the grinning girl to go faster. “I’ll save you!” she called and burst from the trees to see Caleb on the ground holding his stomach. This was a new dynamic they hadn’t played before. “What ails you my friend?” she asked but then started to panic as he moaned in pain way too well to be just playing. “Caleb?” she hesitantly asked, checking him over. There was a purple stain smeared across his lips and on his fingertips. “CALEB!” she shouted at him. He couldn’t speak back to her. When he did it was an exclamation of anguish which then turned into a garbled gasp. He was already on his side so there was nothing she could do but fret. Tears began to fill her eyes when he looked up at her so much pain in those bright blue eyes of his. By his curled up form there were a few whole specimens of the picked berries. She was shaking and was mewling things to him because she knew that these berries in particular he must have consumed didn’t give him long. “Caleb, mum and I love you, please don’t leave us.” It was as she thought. Within a minute or two he had a line of blood dripping from his mouth. Each time he coughed more fluid dribbled over his chin in a mixture of purple and red. He was finding it hard to catch his breath with all the blood in his throat. Quinn was inconsolably in tears. Her brother was being taken from her and all she could do was watch on. Even if she had run as fast as she could for help he would have been dead by the time she came back. That would have meant the twin she was so close to and loved to the ends of Runeterra and back would die scared and all alone. She held his hand as he started to convulse, no longer responsive to her. She hoped that everything she wanted to say had been said between his coughing fits. “I’ll miss you” she sobbed, “I love you Caleb, please...”   
She sat by her brother holding him to her chest once she had closed his eyes with shaking hands. He was heavier and was like a ragdoll in her grasp. Her tears had ended some time ago and now she was sitting blank faced and glass eyed. He was stupid for even picking those berries. Where did he even find these anyway? She hadn’t seen any bushes around but he should have known what they were. Quinn stood up. She could barely carry him so laid him back down gently. She took her jacket and put it on the ground. It would work as a sling for her to drag him back on. Quinn had difficulty getting him onto it without it sliding but managed to in the end. He didn’t even look like he was just sleeping. His skin was an ashen colour with a blue tinge to it, his face still holding a pained expression even though his muscles were lax. The blood around his mouth didn’t help the fantasy.

Each and every step through the undergrowth was a chore. The girl pulled her brother all the way back to the opening of the trees and the edge of the farm. She dragged the still body through the field and to the house where her mother was. Quinn knocked and started to cry when her mother opened it. The woman’s expression dropped. This was worse than when she had come back beaten and cut up. Her mother knew that there was no getting better from this. She was on her knees in a second and was clutching Caleb’s lifeless corpse in her arms. “My baby, my poor baby” she cried. Quinn stood to the side of the door with tears streaming down her cheeks. “I couldn’t do anything mum, I came too late...” she murmured. “Go inside” he mother spoke, “GO INSIDE!” Her words cut her like a knife and in she went.  
~~~~~  
The next few days she didn’t meet Talon in their usual place. She wasn’t seen anywhere they had gone. He patiently waited for her every night at the clearing to show up but each night he was disappointed. As the hours ticked by he got more worried about her. Even the stars didn’t hold their usual gleam. Talon stood and turned to go home. He made one last look, a foul expression on his face, to the area where she would usually emerge from. The walk back was lonely and cold. He wouldn’t admit it but he definitely missed his friend.  
He walked back to the Du Couteau residence and was met by the man himself. “What is wrong Talon?” he asked. The boy stayed quiet. He still hadn’t got used to having this man as his master. He had not treated him badly and his daughters seemed nice, a little toxic at times but weren’t all women? The man’s voice softened, “Talon, I know you are stubborn but confide in me, I am only trying to help.” He looked up at him. Maybe if he used him as a resource he would be able to get back on his feet quicker. “I meet with someone every night and they haven’t shown up for a couple” he said to him.   
“And you are worried for this person? Are you sure they have not just been busy?”  
Talon shook his head, “She even came when she was injured...”  
“A she” he pondered, “I assume this girl was special to you?” Talon nodded slightly, he should have kept being uncooperative. “Talon, I am not saying your girl is like this but women of your age and mine do tend to stray”  
“What?” Talon replied taken aback by the comment. Who was he to lecture him? There was no wife living here, no mistress. Then again, maybe that was speaking from experience...  
“Go to her, see for yourself if she is the one you trust”  
Talon walked past him and went up the stairs to his room. He would go the following night.   
The general went back to his office and opened the drawer in his desk. Inside was a small box with a little purple stain on the lid. He smiled. Now Talon would be much more amiable to his requests and training. He need never know what he had done to keep the boy away from Demacian influence. He was now an integral part of Noxus and would become the most loyal of assassins. 

~~~~~

The sleep that night was restless. Talon kept waking up; tossing and turning in the soft bed he was given. He had ended up dragging some blankets onto the floor and curling up in them. At least then he could catch an hour or two of uninterrupted sleep, however he did not feel rested when the time came to set out for Quinn’s house. He knew the general direction and where the farmsteads were in Demacia but he had not paid too much attention to the outer regions on his few and far between visits. He had a bounty on his head and a Demacian would gladly cash it in in a heartbeat. Bringing him in alive would be worse than being assassinated.

Talon made his way through the woods. He wore traveller’s gear of simple brown clothing and nothing expensive to not arouse suspicion. Just a little further and he would come out at the road. It wasn’t very well kept out this far. The roads within the city itself were immaculate, cleaned regularly and maintained with care. Here the road was unpaved and was lined with bushes instead of paths. He bundled his way along with his head down. The few people that did walk past did not take any notice of the boy entering into the district; that was a good thing for him. Talon looked at the houses and the fields they had beside or behind them. He recalled Quinn saying something about potatoes one of the times they had met so that’s where he would look first.  
It took some time to find as some houses were much further apart than others but right on the outside ring of farms he spotted a cabin with a potato field behind it. ‘That must be hers’ he thought and looked about before going right up to the side of the building. It was in a little disrepair but nothing was wrong in comparison to some of the dwellings in Noxus where a roof of corrugated iron would be upmarket in the shanty. There was a window on the side he carefully peered though; no one in that room. Inside was a single bed with the covers unmade. A set of drawers with a picture of Quinn and her family on top of it sitting angled towards the bed. This must be her mother’s room.  
He went to the next window along and saw a bunk bed inside. The top was made but the bottom was not. Atop the sprawled sheets Quinn sat with a sad smile. There was someone with her too; a boy slightly older than them, maybe eighteen or so. He had his arm around her. Talon frowned and turned his back on them only to take another look. The man was brushing her auburn hair from her face. The general was right... He started to walk away, heartbroken, alone again. He trusted her with his life and she repaid him like this? It was a bad taste in his mouth that he couldn’t get rid of. He scrunched up his eyes and kicked a stone as hard as he could on the road. The only place that accepted him now was the Du Couteau family.

~~~~

Quinn sighed and nodded, “You're right, I have got to tell him or he may get the wrong idea” she said, “I need him for support, I care for him and I don’t want him upset by me not turning up”  
“He will understand if you tell him, he loves you”  
“He does not...” but Quinn smiled. The boy she was with brushed the hair from her face and looked to the window. “You’ll be fine, Caleb would be proud of you two.”  
The councillor left after another fifteen minutes. Quinn had new vigour to make the journey to the clearing and the strength to now tell Talon. She sat at their place and waited for him, early as she was but no one came. She thought it strange but he probably didn’t want to waste his time coming to a place she wasn’t at anymore. The next two days were the same, three, and four. Without a way to contact him she just stopped going all together; and that was how it stayed.


	5. A Soldier and a Broken Bone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay now we get to the part where they are older ^^

Quinn opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling of the barracks from her bed. The place was spotless, not even a stray spider spun its festoons in the white corners. It was too clean for her. She much preferred the dirt and grime of being in the field; the literal fields where she grew up with her mother and for the first part of her life, her twin brother Caleb, and the recon missions she was sent on for the Demacian government. Quinn was looked down upon by many of the other Demacian soldiers that had been born and bred into servitude for the country. Many had generations of heroisms to back them up when talking about why they are good for the job but she had only one, her father. She was a commoner though and had not been raised on the barracks so when she was accepted due to her prowess at fighting, quick wit and with a strange companion sitting on her shoulder it put more than a few peoples noses out of joint.

Her companion; thought to be extinct for many years, was a large Demacian eagle. On the anniversary of her brother’s untimely demise, a horrific accident by all accounts, she had pushed herself to travel out to where her best friend had died. They were so close, a bond that could never be broken even if they were apart now severed. Quinn had a hole in her heart which she filled with her partner, Valor. It pained her to think of Caleb but was reminded every day when she lived on doing what they wanted to do together, for his sake and for her fathers. 

Quinn had ventured far into the woods. She had not returned there in a year and was having difficulty finding the exact spot. So much had changed but the weather was the same as it had been that day, hot, bright, a nice day for a game under the dappled light of the trees. She neared the area only stopping and ducking behind a tree when she heard haggard breathing coming from the spot Caleb had passed in her arms. Her eyes scanned across the floor, her mind and heart racing. Visions of her brother laying there had startled the woman and with shaky steps she walked out. There before her was a large bird. Its feathers were untidily bent on one wing that looked to be broken from a fall and blood was pooled before it. The leaves looked wet rather than just damp so the bird appeared to have been there for some time. It shifted and squawked at her when she neared it. Those talons were huge too; Quinn thought she shouldn’t get too close for her own safety but then what of the safety of the bird? Surely she couldn’t just leave it there to die. "Shhh sweetheart, it’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you" she cooed to the feathered beast. It seemed to have understood her, at least judged her slow gait and tentative hands when she gently touched the deep blue feathers.

The bird was cold. That wasn’t a good sign. She tentatively lifted its damaged wing and immediately saw where it was bleeding from. Across the birds left side of its breast were a clump of missing feathers and a set of marks she didn’t recognise from some sort of blade. "Damn, sweetie, you’re going to be okay, just don’t bite me" she said and slowly lowered the wing again so she could get out some medical supplies. She wasn’t stocked, it was just a few things in case she tripped or had a minor accident but she still had some gauze and a bandage. It would have to do for now. "This is going to hurt" Quinn consoled the bird. She lifted the wing again and put pressure onto the deep wound to help staunch the blood until she could give it better medical attention. Of course the bird hissed and attempted to peck at her but she carried on and wrapped the bandage around the bird’s chest. If Quinn could help this creature then it would make her feel little better about Caleb... It was almost as if the bird being there was a sign. There was a strange feeling between her and it. A connection that became apparent when it nodded its head to her as a thank you. "You’re not better yet" Quinn murmured, "I am not going to leave you here for the wolves, if you don’t mind coming home with me I’ll take care of you until you feel better".

The bird blinked in knowing. It was smart, incredibly smart and let her pick its exhausted body up so she could take it to safety. "I’m Quinn. You need a name too so we can be friends". The bird raised its head and squawked loudly. "Hmmm, let me think, Valor?" The bird squawked again. The name reminded her of her relatives. It made her happy that the bird had accepted its new name too. The bird was very heavy after a while of walking being carried in Quinn’s arms. Valor felt this and attempted to sit upright on her shoulder instead so she didn’t have to carry her.   
When she had brought her home Quinn’s mother had almost had a heart attack. She had relented after her daughter had insisted on keeping the bird as such an honourable Demacian figurehead could not be left when injured. She also put to point across about the coincidence of her brother. The silence after was a reluctant yes. Quinn tended to Valor until he was fit again but he had never left her side when the time came to leave. They had become close and the chirps began to have meaning so Quinn would talk to him like she would any other human being. They had learnt so much from each other and informally trained for years together so they could apply for the ranks. The bird she had found that day had become like a brother to her. She believed that Caleb’s spirit had something to do with finding Valor and regarded him as family.

“Rise and shine” Garen laughed. He was too much of a morning person to be healthy, also too much of a pretentious asshole to be liked by anyone but the highest ranking families. Even his sister Lux was irritating although she was very good at going undercover and stealing spells so she was advantageous to have on your side. “Yes sir,” Quinn replied as she sat up. Valor eyed Garen suspiciously. “Tell your bird not to stare at me like that”  
“He doesn’t like being woken up in the mornings, you should apologise” Quinn joked but the bird definitely looked like she was telling the truth. Quinn got up and rubbed her hair back down into something appropriate once again as it had stuck up at all different angles. Since her childhood she had actually dyed her hair a deep blue to match Valor’s luxurious plumage. “Quinn, I took the time out of my busy schedule to come here in person to tell you about your next mission”  
“Couldn’t it have waited until after breakfast?”  
“No, you see Lux has been putting up wards and there have been a few instances where they have been tripped but we have not yet been able to identify the person tripping them. We have reason to believe that it is a Noxian spy,” Garen briefed, and Quinn stood up, “and we need you to track this person down”  
“Has anything been stolen?” she asked, Valor listening intently too.  
“That is above your pay grade Quinn”  
The eagle squawked loudly, angry at his disregard to both of their actual statuses. “Actually Garen, I will go to Jarvan for the information then,” she smirked, “as I was appointed the wings of Demacia and am a crucial part of your force, handpicked by him and will receive any and all information about my jobs as obligatory.” Garen grumbled and began to walk away, bamboozled by her ignorance. “Oh and Garen...” He turned to her and was met by the cold eyes of Valor who shrieked loudly at him. Quinn laughed and rubbed his head as congratulation however Garen was not best pleased.

The next thing to do, once he had gone of course, was see Jarvan about the real details. He was in his office with plans strewn across the desk. Quinn knocked politely, her friend perched neatly on her shoulder. “Come in” he said, putting a pen down on the desk to give her his full attention. “Sir, I would like to know more information about what was stolen by the Noxian spy I was told to hunt down.”  
“Ah yes, the person responsible has stolen classified papers on current Noxian leaders and generals, Darius, Swain, and a few others however one stuck out to me. A man by the name of General Du Couteau, the only non current leaders files to be stolen.”  
“Oh? Katarina’s father right?”  
“That is correct, the head of the family went missing five years ago leaving the eldest daughter in charge of the estate, his two other children are lesser known so I shall brief you on them, they are Cassiopeia, the youngest daughter who was transformed into a half snake with a gorgons gaze in a horrific accident and Talon, the eldest adopted son though the title of the pest of Noxus follows him still.”  
Quinn perked up at the name of Talon. She had not needed to look into his family and couldn’t remember much of what they had spoken of so many years before but a street child being accepted into such a prolific house? He might have spoken about some sisters but she wasn’t sure anymore, it was so long ago. “Quinn?” Jarvan asked, noticing her pause and distant gaze, “I would like you to look into the members of this family as they are our best lead so far. If they aren’t the culprits then I feel that they would like to know who had those files too. An enemy of an enemy is a friend.” She nodded, “Thank you Jarvan, I’ll pack and be on my way.”  
He gave a single wave in dismissal and she left. Valor was confused; the change in Quinn’s demeanour perplexed him. He chirped at her. “If it’s who I think it is... there was a friend I used to know and he is part of this household now” the woman replied, petting his underbelly. “Chirp”  
“Okay okay, he was more than a friend, but after Caleb... well we never saw each other again, he just never showed up, I thought maybe he was dead too,” she looked happy when saying this, the fact that he may have been fine all this time and now she knew where to find him she was relieved. “Squawk”  
“Valor! Don’t say things like that,” Quinn exclaimed, red faced. A few other recruits were watching her as she passed them and started to whisper but the woman did not care. She had spoken to Valor many times in front of people before and It had been a daily occasion that they had to get used to or else. 

Once back in her room she got together everything she needed for the journey and for her stakeout. Going deep into Noxian territory was her favourite thing to do. The danger made her feel alive but underground Valor often complained. He did not like small spaces. She would have to leave him scoping the entrances to the city instead, especially if it was going to be a long job. He was he eyes in the sky.  
Lux poked her head around the door. She had been to the area before, “Garen thought I should come with you, show you where you are and such, since you haven’t been to this part of town before,” she grinned. There was always that grin on her perfect face. It really lit up the room with other Demacians but grated on her. “That would be helpful, will you be staying?” Quinn asked.   
“Oh no, I have another mission nearby, so I’ll just be tagging along like we are besties” she nudged, “plus I love seeing you work with Valor, he’s so pretty”  
“Chirp chirp”  
“He says thank you”  
Lux and Quinn got changed into Noxian clothing. They looked rather dishevelled and Lux kept pulling the short skirt down but she was in fact dressed... “Are you sure you want to be going in there looking like that? You look like a cheap hooker.”  
“Yup! I am going to be getting information from some of the ‘natives’ so I need to look the part,” she replied, her hands pulling at the material over her backside again, “don’t worry Quinn, I will have my light wand with me! In case of any trouble”  
“Okay okay, if you’re sure, I reckon Garen would have a fit if he saw what you were wearing,” Quinn laughed, “he always seems so uptight.”  
Lux laughed, “Yeah! I think that too sometimes but he is my brother after all! He is my best friend and I am glad to have him around!” Quinn nodded and smiled, now jealous of the blonde bombshell which made her even more irritated. “Let’s go, we can get there before dark then”

The pair made their way through the forest and to the gate of the Noxian stronghold. Quinn had let Valor fly and trusted he would keep an eye on who was coming in and out of Noxus. Lux got them in unnoticed with a spell and navigated the streets to get Quinn to a large house that was the former Generals home. The journey was hot and musty. Quinn really did not know how people could stand being down here in such a place. Everything was run down on the outer parts of the city and even the upmarket properties held no comparison to the luxury of Demacian noble’s houses. “You be careful too,” she smiled and went in for a hug. Quinn awkwardly hugged her back and patted the younger girl to let her go, “I’ll see you soon,” she said, “I’ll be back when I have some more information, call down Valor with the special call if you need him, travelling back okay?” she said, “oh and don’t come back with a mysterious itch, your brother will kill me.” Lux laughed, “Gotcha!”


	6. A Mercenary and a Bad Taste

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We finally meet Talon again ^^

Quinn scoped the outside of the house. It had large windows to let the artificial light through which were barred on the ground floor and on the upper floor thick net curtains reduced the visibility into the home. There was one window she could see with the net pulled back in one corner. The window was ajar too so there must have been someone in. Probably the youngest daughter... To go from looking like Katarina to the snake beast she was told about must have crippled her self esteem. Quinn wondered if there was any place she would fit in except maybe in Shurima with the ascended since they were animal like in appearance. She shifted her weight and tried to get a better view through the uncovered glass. All she could see was a red carpet and a desk. She supposed that a red carpet in Noxus is a necessity rather than a luxury as most likely blood would be spilt on it one day or another. Quinn made herself scarce over the next couple of hours. She wanted to wait to see for sure if it was the Talon she knew before going in there unprepared.   
In the barracks general drills such as teamwork challenges, weapon skills and some hard core training in heavy plate armour was a must but Quinn much preferred her runs with Valor away from the others. If Talon had improved from training too she wouldn’t win a fight with him. She wondered if he remembered her. She remembered him, a lanky thirteen or fourteen year old boy with shaggy hair and a smudge across his cheek. His voice hadn’t even got past the squeaky stage of breaking yet. She couldn’t recall all their conversations but she did have the first kiss on her mind, how it made her feel and how it started something more emotional between them.

There was no movement seen from her vantage point, they must be working considering the time but Cassi would probably still be home. Quinn rounded the house to get a better view inside. The roof of the neighboring building she was camped on was rough beneath her and jabbed her in the ribs and thighs where she lay. "Uncomfortable" she murmured to herself. From here the front door and much of the side could be seen. There. In the downstairs window with the bars the back of a snake could be seen, deep green and beautifully alluring but deadly. It slithered out of view but took some time to. Cassi was very long. Quinn knew she would be waiting a long time for the others to show. It was a waiting game and she got bored easily. ‘If only Valor was okay with tight spaces, maybe I’d have someone to talk to’ she thought to herself.   
A few more hours went by and Quinn was just about ready to change position as almost her entire body had gone numb, when Katarina came home. She was wearing all black and had her blades strapped to her back. She opened the door with her key and entered. The door didn’t close straight away as Cassi had met her there, they were saying something to each other and Kat shrugged and pushed past. Cassi was the one who shut the door after looking around briefly. Strange. Maybe this was how the sisters interacted? Katarina did not look too happy being stopped by her sister as soon as she walked through the door but it seemed like it was something of importance. 

Talon did not appear to be coming back any time soon when the lights of the house turned off leaving the area around the home in darkness. She had missed her chance to infiltrate the house while Katarina had been out and disappointed that the man she was hoping to see had not turned up. She moved quickly and silently towards the side of the building, noting that the window on the upper floor was still open. It did not look like a bedroom from what she saw of it so this would be the best spot to enter. Quinn carefully scaled the wall. It was difficult and yet again she was sad that she did not have her ever so helpful friend Valor with her. If not for some broken bricks the feat may have been impossible without him. Her fingers breached the ledge and she opened the window further, enough for her to squeeze in and then shut it back to where it was behind her. 

Quinn was right. This room was definitely a study and not a bedroom with a sleeping assassin inside waiting to kill her. There were two doors to this room, one between the bookcases leading to the adjacent room and one leading out into the hall. She searched through the drawers and found some papers pertaining to Noxian troops tactics however if she took these she would have a higher bounty on her head than any current Demacian. The woman slid them into her bag. She was about to leave when there was sound behind the bookcase door. Damn it! Quinn moved to the window and grumbled; it was a long way to drop without hurting herself. Perhaps hiding until the presence went away would be a better tactic; it would remove the risk of breaking her legs and getting caught from the thud and could get her some extra information if she overheard something. Lux would be proud. Too bad she didn’t have the girls cloaking spells. Quinn silently bolted from the hallway door and into the room opposite. There was an empty unmade bed against the far wall and a chest of drawers next to it. There was the same red carpet and a window that was closed on the wall at the beds headboard. She slipped under the bed. There was only just enough space for her to fit, her breasts squished against the carpet. At least it was more comfortable than the rooftop.

The footsteps grew close and then stopped. There was a pair of feet on the crimson carpet before her. A woman’s feet. They were slender and had black painted toenails. Well if this was Talon at least she would die laughing hysterically. She held her breath and kept deathly still as the bare feet walked towards the bed and stepped onto it. The whole thing sunk down in the middle crushing the air out of her. Whoever’s bed this was needed a new one, the support was terrible. Quinn heard the window above her being opened. There was a cold breeze through it, ‘foreboding’ she thought. “Are you leaving it open for him again?” Cassi asked, head around the doorframe looking in. The woman had approached so silently. “Of course,” Kat replied, “he has done the same for us.”  
“He is probably out with one of his whores you know Kat”  
The redhead grumbled and jumped down with an angry thud, “you listen here scalebag, if I thought he was with sleeping around with those skanks then I’d gut him myself.”  
“I’ve seen him,” Cassi remarked, her green eyes narrowing to slits. Her sister stormed up to her and grabbed her by the throat. “Say. That. Again.”  
Cassiopeia smiled; her fangs and venomous spit was so close to Kats hands, “I saw Talon with a man and a woman, here, a few days ago, since then he’s been missing.”  
Katarina hissed and pushed her away. “URGH! I knew he was playing around! Maybe I should lock all the windows instead!” she exclaimed and then stomped out of the room leaving the window untouched. Quinn took note of all the information but Cassi lingered by the entrance to the room. She was focused on the bed. “On your head be it” she mumbled, almost as a warning to Quinn who was still held up in there.  
The snake moved back down the hall and shut her door leaving Kat to bang around in what sounded like a kitchen downstairs. The sister’s row had left the air thick and charged with anger. Quinn shimmied out and brushed herself down. She put her crossbow back on her shoulder. That was a close one. Katarina was very protective of her brother... Or was it something else? The netting behind her blew inwards and she turned and looked at the window that had startled her. She was pretty jumpy and felt a little sad, not that he was supposed to be saving himself for her or that she was for him, they were just kids, they got over it and moved on. Right? 

A jolt ran up her spine as the curtain flurried back down. Before she knew it a sharp knife dug into her back. "Empty the bag" a man’s voice growled. It was deep and commanding. From behind he could only see the dark hair. He slashed the strap from her shoulder which also cut off the bow. The blade sliced cleanly through her shirt and her skin too. Quinn grimaced and the bag fell, the bow still connected via the other shoulder. Her arm tensed to her side with pain. "Who are you? Why are you here?" he demanded quietly enough so no one except her would hear him. Quinn put her hands up slowly and turned around. He never relinquished the knife from her body. Quinns heart was beating in her throat. She laid eyes on him for the first time in years. So much had changed. He looked filled out, no more hollow cheekbones, his face aged into that of a very attractive man though his features had the same fierce look she was familiar with. Talon had grown too, he got broad shouldered but was still very slim. 

“Talon?” She asked tentatively as he still had a scowl across his face. He jolted the knife to her neck and pushed her back onto the bed. She bounced on her back and sat up against the blade in a defiant smirk. His face was close to hers, scanning her in disbelief only to let his gaze rest on her amber eyes in realisation. “Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you on the spot... Quinn?” he growled at her. Her face dropped the smirk and changed it for a confused and frankly anxious expression. The knife was threatening to push through her skin. It had started to bead red at the point. “What?” she replied and blinked at the man’s persistence. “You are stealing from me...”  
“And you stole my heart” she murmured aloud though it had only meant to be a statement in her head. The man backed up a little, she did not have access to her weapon, the only thing she could have done is hit him and it wasn’t unseen in this room of his own free will. “You’re a Demacian spy Quinn, or you wouldn’t be here.”  
“Let me explain, please” she replied darting her eyes back and forth between his. He was leaning over her still; one of his knees sunk into the bed beside her.  
“Talon” the voice that Quinn recalled as Cassi from earlier said, “Who is that?”  
He turned his head to the snake, satisfied in the fact that Quinn wouldn’t run, not from him. “No one” he retorted. Why was he covering for her? Cassiopeia should definitely have killed her if he hadn’t. She was in a very precarious position that she really was not equipped for. “You haven’t been home in a while, and you’re upsetting Kat bringing home girls like that when you are.” Of course! Quinn thought; the earlier conversation... Cassi must have mistaken her for a Noxian whore... Lux would laugh when she heard about this... especially how she put so much effort into the outfit only to be outdone by a mistaken identity. It upset her a little that he was ‘that way inclined’ now though to fill his need with prostitutes and the confusion about the boundaries of the relationship with his sister also repulsed her somewhat. “Cassi leave us be” he warned, “or I’ll make sure the last thing you see tonight is your own reflection on my blade.” The snake reclined back to her own room quickly as the slam of the door reverberated around the house. This would have definitely alerted Katarina. “You have about thirty seconds,” Talon said to her, yanking the woman up by her shirt. Quinn started to bleat, it seemed necessary the way things were going, “Someone stole papers about your father from the Demacian vaults, do you know anything about that?” she asked. He nodded and replied, “Yes that was me.” Quinn grimaced. So he was the one who she was sent after. “Don’t slam the fucking door Cassi!” Kats voice shouted through the halls. Her footsteps were coming closer. “Ten seconds, what do you have in the bag.”  
“Noxian battle strategies,” she said quickly. The steps were right outside now. Talon pulled her close, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her as a diversion. Katarina was standing at the door and now came in the room to put her hand on his shoulder. He turned with a smirk, keeping Quinn behind him, using his own body as a shield so she wouldn’t recognise her if they had met again. “You bastard!” Kat yelled and slapped him across his face. There was a visible handprint even in the low light of the room. Talon nodded as his sister walked away rather dejected and shut the door. Before the latch clicked however she did say something through the open slat, “she must remind you of that Quinn girl doesn’t she?”  
Quinn’s heart leapt into her throat at the mention of her name. “Maybe she does” Talon replied and the door latched. The mercenary had left with a bad taste in her mouth.  
“You are in big trouble, your allegiances mean nothing to me but those two women would see you tortured and hanged for setting foot on their property.”  
“I have something to ask you Talon, before I leave”  
“You think I am letting you leave?” She was pressed up against him in his arms. It felt nice to be here again and the kiss certainly caught her off guard.  
“Why did you not go back to the clearing?” Quinn asked, finally having the ability to find out what happened to him.  
“You didn’t” he replied flatly.  
“I did, it just took a while to get back on my feet again”  
“Oh? And why was that?” he questioned recalling the very vivid memory of seeing her and an older lad in her bedroom at the farm.  
“My brother died in a... accident,” she said simply, “I needed a little time alone, I had counselling and then when I felt I was ready to return to the woods I came to find you.”  
“I saw you with another guy,” he stated out of the blue, “I came to your farm and you were with someone else. I didn’t go back because I thought you were cheating on me.”  
“Another guy? The councillor?” her confusion spurred a race of thoughts in Talon. Everything now pieced together for both of them.   
Both of their jaws dropped slightly. They had fallen out and over such a stupid misunderstanding? Quinn’s eyes began to well up, “I thought maybe you’d been killed by the people after you so I didn’t go back after a while because it upset me going without you there. I couldn’t stand losing both of you,” she tightened her grip on him.  
Talon cocked his head and sighed, “Quinn, I’m sorry.”


	7. A Lover and an Open Wound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter I keep getting told is the one people are waiting for!  
> Archive warning for EXPLICIT on this chapter

Quinn rose up on her tiptoes and kissed the man in front of her. His hands gently stroked through her hair as they made up for the years apart. Even though it had been a long time and they had both grown up considerably they still held a passion for each other like they held for no other. Quinn’s back hurt. Until now, when she could relax a little, the pain had been pushed out of her mind. Talon was breathing deeply and his cheeks were flushed like they used to do when they kissed as teenagers. His eyes spoke that he wanted more but he never touched her without permission. Well except for kissing her in front of Katarina... But that was to keep her safe. She nodded, the giddy feeling in her stomach and head dulling the ache. She was still bleeding which was an issue that once Talon had brought his hand up from her waist had quickly realised. "Quinn," he murmured between kisses as she flinched at his touch, "You need to get that sorted out first". There was a glint of disappointment in her eyes when he parted from her but when he came back with bandages and scissors she thought back to the day they had met. He had torn off her trouser leg to get to her so she readied herself to be disrobed by him once again, this time in his bedroom. Talon sat her down to cut her shirt off, revealing her damaged bra where one strap had been severed. He paused for a moment to gently caress her exposed skin. Quinn let out a slight moan when his fingertips ran down her spine which made Talon smile. The cut was not too deep as the bag strap took the brunt of the force but was not going to close any time soon without help. He cleaned it and wrapped the gauze with a bandage to keep pressure on the wound. Quinn turned to him and gave a single slow kiss to his forehead, "thank you" she whispered. Talon was no stranger to sex but the feeling he received from that one gesture awakened an emotion he had not felt for years.

His hand crept to her breast first cupping over the bra then taking it off completely. Her nipples were already erect but he still rubbed them between the tips of his fingers earning a few gasps and a sultry gaze. His heart almost skipped a beat when her amber eyes stared needily into his. Quinn was beautiful. She had become everything he had visualised. Her lips were soft as she brushed them down his neck in a flurry of small kisses. He was holding back from ravishing her there and then, instead opting to move one hand to her trousers surprised to find them already in the process of being undone. Quinn’s feverish hands then took to Talons shirt, lifting it off over his head with a little help. He was toned. Her eyes scanned down his body, "I'm impressed" she murmured. She caught his smile and he leant in for another kiss. The cold breeze was still coming in through the open window but they did not care. Their bodies were hot and wanting for more. Talons hand rubbed her underwear, a wet patch beginning to form through the material. Quinn kicked off her clothing allowing Talon more room. His eyes lingered on the scar he had made all those years ago for a few seconds before he took it as a sign that she was comfortable with him doing more. He slid his fingers down to her opening and used her lubrication to slowly rub her with. Quinn moaned and clawed for his trousers to be taken off. He obliged, taking off his shoes and sliding the garments down to reveal his erect member. "Now I'm very impressed" she smirked. Talon standing in the moonlight completely naked turned her on even more. Even the little scars that littered his perfect body made her feel weak.

He kissed her backwards so she was prone and let his hand wander again. His fingers entered her and she rubbed her hands over his pectorals and down to his waist with a moan. She was wet and he arched his fingers up inside of her which made her tighten around them with pleasure. "Talon" she murmured, clasping him in her hand. He was a considerable size in her palm. She could feel him twitch when her thumb rubbed the head. He sighed with a smile, catching her eyes while they were making such faces. She began to pump him rhythmically, or as well as she could with him touching her and making her buck her hips against his hand. "Please" she murmured. He stepped between her legs that were still hung over the edge of the bed and hitched them higher. Quinn braced herself, this put more weight on her back but she was too infatuated to care. All she wanted in this moment was Talon and all he wanted was her. They were not kids anymore... His tip breached her and he slowly pushed in. Quinn moaned and pulled his hips closer so he was down to his hilt. He let out his own moan as the hot sensation wrapped his entirety and began to move, thrusting into her so she gasped with ecstasy. The room was spinning. Talon got faster, caught up in his own dream, he could feel himself coming closer. He closed his eyes and raised his chin. Quinn could see the scar across his neck. It had faded but it was still visible. "C-can- I r-ride you?" she stammered out, quivering beneath him. He nodded and he pulled out. Quinn moaned at the sudden loss of fullness and they switched positions. She climbed onto the bed on her knees and straddled his crotch. With care she lowered herself back down onto him eliciting such a face from Talon that she had to squeeze her muscles to tease him more. "Hey" he uttered and then bucked up into her. She moaned loudly and began to slide on his member from tip to hilt. It was intoxicating. His hands played with her breasts, steadying her as she bounced. She leant down to kiss him and then got faster. His hands slipped to her waist and pushed her up and down when she moved. He was close, so was she. "Fuck" he suddenly exclaimed as he tensed from orgasm. Quinn was still going on his sensitive cock and he thrust out the last few seconds before she joined him in euphoria, "nng Talon". She collapsed on his chest panting body shuddering and milking the last of him into her. He kissed the top of her head and removed himself from her. There was only so much he could take. The pair lay there in silence. Talons arms were around Quinn and she had shuffled to his side into the crook of his arm to rest her head on his shoulder. He looked down at her and then closed his eyes. Right now she was safe in his arms, it reminded him of days of old, and how they would lay like this under the stars, just content with each other’s presence. He had never quite got her off his mind, even when he was with someone else. Nothing felt quite like his amber eyed first and only love. “Talon?” Quinn asked sleepily, almost mumbling to herself and not him, “I am glad you found me today.” He opened his eyes and saw her staring up at him. He frowned at her, “be glad I recognised you,” he murmured, “or you really would be dead this time. If not from me, from Kat.” That was right, Katarina still had it out for the ‘random girl’ Talon had brought home. Surely she was not that vindictive to come after her.   
“Quinn you’re making the face again.”  
“What?”  
“The one you used to make when you were worried about something.” She was surprised he remembered what her expressions were, though tonight showed him way more to catalogue into his excellent memory. There was another gust of wind and this time it sent shivers down her spine. “Your sister is pretty pissed,” Quinn said, tugging at the crumpled covers underneath them. “She’s always pissed about something,” he replied and mused as she struggled without any help at all. “What is the problem between you two though?” she asked, giving up and instead grabbing Talons shirt to put on. He sighed and looked reluctant to say anything about it. “Spill,” Quinn insisted.  
“We had a thing, on and off, just a way to let off steam,” he grumbled, “then she went psycho, kept bringing up what I told her about you from when we were younger, got really jealous so I ended it.” Quinn’s expression had darkened. “It’s defiantly over then?” Quinn clarified. Talon nodded and pulled her back into him, “Yes because the reason she got jealous was because I said I loved you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this was a shorter chapter than the 2.5k I try to do for each one =^.^= xx


	8. A Royal and a Ripped Stitch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, sorry for not uploading, I have been busy with LARP and work so I haven't been able to write until now (as you can see by the chapters being uploaded frequently at the moment.) To all the people waiting on personal chapters for other works I should be done by Sunday next week, if not before then.

The first rays of light broke onto the utmost tower of the Demacian stronghold. The beautiful scenery afoot was not enough to quell the furious look on Garen’s face as he stared down onto the white buildings below. His knitted expression betrayed his feelings though he was never one to hide what he was thinking. Internally he was ruing letting his sister out of his sight. It was not her first mission away by a long shot, but he never could sleep well at night knowing she was within the grasp of his enemies if they so chose to squeeze their fingers shut. He had been awoken from a light, dreamless sleep by a messenger calling him to Jarvan IV’s side, a motion that was not done unless something was changed majorly with plans, be that by new intelligence that had come to light or something that had gone seriously wrong. His heart wrenched in his chest as he lifted his chin up to the sound of footsteps behind him. “Garen,” the man said and he turned around to face the new comer in the grand room of marble and blue banners. Jarvan’s face was sullen, this was not a good sign, and he usually held a slightly pretentious yet kind expression that made him very likeable to the people he ruled over but his eyes now told of apprehension and sorrow. Garen grit his teeth, “Yes my liege?” he replied, the sun slowly creeping across the floor at his feet casting his fellow Demacian in shadow. 

Jarvan inhaled, “your sister,” he paused as Garen bristled at the very mention of his sibling only to continue by repeating those words, “your sister has set off the distress beacon that she was sent out with”. The might of Demacia nodded his head sharply, his short brown hair that was neatly in place before now being knocked onto his forehead. “What is to be done my liege?” he choked out, keeping his composure yet making it openly known that he wanted to slice a few Noxian skulls from their pedestals. “We have an operative already in Noxus; Quinn is in the vicinity to help however, we have not got direct contact with her. This poses some difficulty in rescuing Lux swiftly.” Jarvan sighed, “We do not know what has gone on and what situation she may be facing, however the marble artefact cannot be broken except by her particular form of light magic, which means its destruction and subsequently our alert, was not by accident. Garen I am sorry, I wish for Lux’s safe return as much as you do, she means a lot to all of us.” Garen shot him a glare, what did he know about his relationship with his sister! How dare he compare his own affiliation to the love of a sibling! “Yes, sir,” he spoke through tensed muscles, “I shall lead the charge to get her back.”  
“No Garen, I have sent out a message to Valor, Quinn’s eagle.”

“That bird?!” Garen exclaimed, now shocked at how stupid Jarvan could be in spite of his position.  
“You have seen the way they interact; Lux’s good friend Janna was called as soon as we had confirmation and has sent a whisper on the winds to him, it’s the quickest way. We cannot reach inside of Noxus; however Valor is likely still posted outside of the gates where we can contact him via this method.”  
“And what makes you think that the bird will understand someone other than Quinn?” he asked shaking his head, now holding his hand to his face absolutely dumbfounded by Jarvan’s decision.  
“I have seen how he can relay information that he has heard to her, he knows more than you give him credit for, like twins they have their way,” he replied, finding Garen’s resistance aggravating, “that is enough Garen, we have to rely on them now, it is out of our hands until we have more information. I cannot risk the lives of any more soldiers until this plan has been exhausted, if you oppose that ruling, I shall remove you from your post until you are in a better mindset to continue working.”

Garen held his breath, almost as if he was about to explode everything he was thinking about all at once and kill Jarvan with his harsh words but he held his tongue only nodding and making his way to the door. He turned, “Jarvan, my liege, get her back safe or it won’t be just the Noxian’s that feel my might.”  
“Are you threatening me?” he replied raising his eyebrows quizzically, the situation, had he not known why Garen was acting this way, would have fallen to conspiracy of treason however he let it slide. Garen was headstrong and loyal but understandably upset.  
“It’s not a threat, it’s a promise,” Garen said with conviction. He then left and shut the door behind him. Shyvanna was in the hall, obviously there in case anything untoward happened however she averted her eyes and left him pass without so much as a word. Good. He didn’t need anyone’s sympathy. He wanted his sister back home safely.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The morning came quickly, even if it was almost eight by now. Talon had gone to get some rolls from downstairs in the kitchen as he and Quinn were pretty hungry after last night. He looked around at the mess of plates and some half eaten food that Kat had left before storming up to his room. The girl needed to get her anger issues in check. "Talon," Cassi said, slithering in. He was only wearing a pair of white trousers and was rooting through the bread bin like a Noxian orphan again. Old habits die hard. He looked up as if to say 'what?' with no words. "Is she still here?" she asked, as she leant back on her muscular snake body. "What is it to you?" he replied. The snake raised an eyebrow, “You usually kick them out once you are done, and exactly who is she to you?" Cassi had caught on very fast. She was definitely her father’s daughter. "A good fuck," he smirked which earned a venomous glare from his sister. "The only person you would ever let stay through the night..." she thought aloud, almost as if to irk him deliberately, "Is the Demacian." Talons body tensed and the snake had him in her coils. "Oh you are in big trouble," Cassiopeia grinned, her fangs gleaming. If that wasn’t bad enough Katarina was leant silently against the door frame watching them. She moved back out of sight and was heading back upstairs, Talon’s flame in her sights. 

Quinn stretched and put on her trousers. She was still in Talons shirt and she began picking up some of her things and putting them back into the bag. The papers were still there. Talon had not taken them off of her nor told her explicitly that she could not have them so she kept them. It would be better if she was ready to leave as soon as possible. Talon would tell her anything she asked about her mission objectives on the route back out of Noxus... Hopefully. She wanted to stay here longer but knew that she would not be safe in the abode for long. Especially because Kat had it out for her but also because she was a Demacian scout and maybe, as she did not know how in depth the Noxians vetted their enemies, was recognisable by anyone with the people who had files on the Demacian ranks. A stray thought went to Lux, how was she doing? Only one night gone but she had her spells to hide her known identity, she was the Demacian prodigy of light after all and a Crownguard. 

She was waiting for Talon so they could slip out of the window together but instead was met by another sound. She turned from the door towards the all too familiar noise. Wings beat hard at the window blowing air at her. Valor flapped erratically until he had her full attention. She stood on the bed with a foot on the ledge. “What is it Valor?” she asked hurriedly. He should not have been there; he hated the enclosed space, especially this far into town. She understood his chirped reply and trusting him completely grabbed hold of his taloned feet. His toes closed around her wrists too to give more support. He pulled her off of the ledge and out into the open air with an anguished squawk. This was not the way they were used to flying and would have to drop soon enough. It was dangerous flying in this space too. Too easily seen and very easily trapped. Talon would have to find her. Looking back she saw Katarina at the ledge staring daggers at her as they whisked away into the town. Valor dropped Quinn about a foot from the ground and she dismounted running. 

"Squawk" Valor spoke as he flew by her. There were definitely more people around here. They gave confused stares and angry yells when Quinn pushed past and ducked into alleyways. It was only here that she stopped, panting. She rested against the more solid looking of the two walls. Valor had flown further ahead and probably was probably heading to the entrance to Noxus by now. Quinn grumbled when she felt her bandaged wound press against the brick. "Ouch..." Valor wanted her to find Lux at all costs and get her out. Putting the missions of Lux and hers at risk to recall them must mean something very bad had happened. What could that have been? Also what was Lux searching for with her 'information reconnaissance?' they were not on the same mission so... Her thoughts were cut short when a boy stepped into the alley. His clothes were dirty and he was stick thin. His greasy hair, in desperate need of a cut and straggly brown reminded her of a young Talon. "I saw ya bird" he said. She smiled sweetly with a sigh. He could have only been about thirteen. "He is nice isn’t he?" she replied, "He’s my friend. We have been together for a long time." The boy looked at her and came closer. "Who are ya?" he asked, "ya not part of the house Du Couteau... I aint seen ya around either". She looked rather perplexed at him having brought up Talons family name straight away and could only manage an, "oh?" "Yeah, the sigil on ya shirt". Quinn looked down. There was indeed a small mark pressed into the clothing. She had not noticed it or it had not registered as important before. "Good eyes kid," she laughed, "could say I've got a friend there too." The boy balked a little, his stance changed ever so slightly, "I'm not going to hurt you, and why does that scare you?"

"Na I aint scared of ya, they got that big snake lady in there, ya seen her?" Quinn changed her voice to a story telling tone, "Yup and she’s huge! Can wrap around a boy your size, even mine and crush you like an autumn leaf." He immediately dropped the act and started running the other way. Quinn looked perplexed, what was that all about? She looked back to her bag which had the fastenings undone. No. No no no no. She opened it and things had definitely been removed. The rations, half empty water bottle and the little embroidered leather money pouch given to her by her mother on her twenty first birthday. The little brats! Quinn had taken her guard down to the boy only to be pick-pocketed by another street rat. The papers were still there, kids obviously did not know the importance of them. They were more interested in food than some words on a page they may not even be able to read. Quinn threaded the clasps back and set off towards the part of town Lux had told her she would be at, Talon would find her, he was a good assassin, he would follow the smallest tit bit of information and she had not exactly kept a low profile. She would have to change her clothes though, if even a little boy realised she had been at the Du Couteau’s house.

She kept her head down and her bag gripped tightly as she wandered through the streets to the market place. Her eyes scouted the stalls and tables for anything she could snatch. The urchin had stolen her money after all. She would come back with payment later; right now she needed to become invisible. Quinn approached a stall with lots of customers and threaded her hand through the crowd, grabbing anything material she could within her fingers and dragged it back towards her through the people at the table’s edge. One turned to her but she had whipped around and had begun walking away. “OI YOU!!” a loud man’s voice bellowed out. Quinn didn’t look back but there seemed to be a lot of commotion behind her. Her footsteps became quicker but no one was in pursuit. “I don’t fucking have thieves at my stall!” she could hear the same man shout as the garbled sound of someone being beaten and people cheering assaulted her ears. “Sorry,” she whispered and turned the corner to check what she had thieved. 

Quinn felt sorry for the bystander, it was her fault they were assaulted. She looked at the shirt in her hands, a black strappy thing and a little bit small but she guessed that if she was going to a brothel then this would not make much of a difference. “Lux, I hope you are okay,” she murmured. Quinn took off her shirt and gazed at her bandage. Talon had done a good job patching her up but blood had started to come through the gauze in patches. Neither her flight nor her landing was as graceful as she had hoped; maybe two or three stitches were torn? She could only guess without taking a closer look, “Damn.” Quinn could not do anything about that right now so slipped the top over them. What the material of the shirt did not hide she had to put up with, maybe Talon would follow that as a clue since no one else knew she was injured. 

~~~~~~~~

Talon gently pushed his sister aside. After all the years of being raised with her he did not fear the woman. There were times where she got to be a handful but other memories were pleasant in nature. The sound from upstairs made his ears prick. He moved faster now, leaping over the kitchen table and through to the stairs with speed. The prickly feeling did not leave him when he came to his room and Katarina was standing with her back towards him holding a bloodied rag that she must have pulled from the bin. “This yours?” she asked smirking. “Where is Quinn?” he asked, striding over and snatching the cloth from her nimble fingers. “She left through the window hanging onto a bird, probably dropped, she didn’t look too stable there, and if she’s already hurt then I can only relish in how she must be feeling right now,” she chuckled. Talon drew a blade to her neck which was met by her own at his. “Careful sweetheart, your Quinn and her bird are the ‘Wings of Demacia’ now, if you don’t find her someone else in this town will. She has allies who will come for you,” she smirked. He lowered his knife, “I know and she wouldn’t do that.”  
“You sure?” Katarina chortled, “There’s more than one Demacian in Noxus, and it’s just a matter of time before your little chick gets its neck rung.”  
“Where?” he demanded. Katarina would not make it that easy for him. She knew more than he did and he did not like that. There was now a full blown smile on her face, “Blood for Noxus Talon, remember that.”  
He did not want to play this woman’s games any longer. He would find Quinn on his own and she could and would not be hard to find, not for him, and unfortunately not for anyone else who knew who they were looking for. Demacians were easy prey in Noxus. There was always something different about them that gave them away.


	9. A Crownguard and a Concussion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has an adult theme warning, it may be uncomfortable and triggering for some. Other than that, I haven't gone into as much detail as I could have for this reason.

Lux smiled sweetly at the men eyeing her up. She was leant seductively against a wall inside of a large townhouse. There were many who looked like her, dressed scantily and practically begging to be undressed with not only men’s eyes but with their hands too. Several girls had already been ‘taken’ for other curricular activities but she was waiting. Lux had cloaked her true appearance with magic previously stolen from a camouflaging Vestaya. With a few tweaks it changed her features, hair and eye colour so she could not be recognised by anyone. The spell was handy; she could move undetected if she needed. For now though, she was waiting for her mark. Many had tried it on with her; she had certainly felt a few misguided hands and a sickly feeling as she had men run their fingers and palms up her lean figure. Nothing came to fruition with a little magic to change minds, Lux had thought ahead because no was not always no in Noxus, especially if you are just some ‘dumb whore’. She had heard a couple outside slander the women in the building with those words. They had the wrong idea about them. Lux had spoken to many of the workers here before starting ‘the job’, most were poor, earning their living any way they could. Some did not enjoy it. Others thought it a necessary evil that they could not help but enjoy since they were doing it anyway. Some flat out enjoyed the sex.

Since it was still late afternoon she found herself become bored. All of this standing around never appealed to her, she always wanted to read or go and practice her magic somewhere on the mock battlefield at home in Demacia. Oh what she would give to read a book right now; something light Lux figured, a love story of old, where the tall dark and handsome prince rescues his princess and sweeps her off her feet to take to his castle on the hill to get married. Shaking the fairy tale nonsense from her head she came back into reality. Some of the girls were trying to give her tips to get a man and bag some cash, which she giggled at. In the end they all just ended up being overly dramatic, pushing their breasts up and pouting like the fish in Jarvan’s pond. It was fun; they seemed like nice people; she would secretly have to keep in touch with a few when her mission was over.Another hour went by, nothing. Only the attention of Noxian’s she turned down each time. One was definitely good looking, just her type. He had blue eyes; dark hair and a jaw line that could slice cake. Lux loved her sweet things. Garen would always have his slice stolen if he so much as looked away from his plate with her around. She found it hilarious and now it had become a running joke between him that he almost never won. Again she turned him away. 

Just as she had begun to think that her mark would never show, there he was, a large brute of a man walked through the double entrance doors; he was still clad in heavy armour. Lux noticed the dry blood splatters across the metal. The rest of the ladies cooed over him and she, of course followed suit but not like them. She caught his eye then acted like she did not want him. That made her different. It was a long shot she could easily correct if he had not started to gently push through the other girls. His eyes followed her as she began to leave, slowly, making sure her hips swayed seductively as she did. She glanced back at him at the next door frame. He ran his hand through his dark hair, prematurely streaked with grey at the front as he grinned promisingly at her. She almost had him. He followed into the next room. The walls were curtained and soft furnishings laden the floor space. “I haven’t seen you here before” the man smiled, as his hand stroked down her cheek. She chuckled, “I haven’t done this kind of thing before; you could say I am a virgin at it.” Sometimes Lux even impressed herself with how she could captivate men with no interest from her at all, besides she was not lying. With her overprotective brother chasing off any man who would attempt to court her she had never actually engaged in these carnal pastimes with a man. He gave her his best enticing look, "Shall we go back to mine? I prefer my own bed, I am sure you will too" he chuckled. Darius was the general of the Noxian army; he had a large house by the barracks where he took ladies of the night. After his love died he lost all interest in meaningful relationships. It was dangerous to go somewhere she had not been able to scope out before hand but Lux had to do it for the information. She threaded her arm through his and they walked out past the rest of the girls who either raised their eyebrows at her or grumbled that the newbie bagged the prized customer. 

They walked through the side streets until the property came into view. It was not as grand as the Demacian buildings but the quaint manor house was more than up market in Noxus. It was three storeys high with bars on its windows. Well a nice house like this he couldn’t well just leave it open to any thief or assassin to hop in at night. He opened the heavy door and she walked in after him. He gave her a coy smile as the door shut behind her and she looked around the large entrance hall. Whatever was going through his head made his eyes narrow with a sly intention. "The bedroom is upstairs; do you require anything to drink first?" He was being a very gracious host... and to a ‘common hooker’... Lux smiled back and shook her head. He had a reputation in Demacia of being cold and heartless; however he was being very kind to her. The wooden floors, old paintings and a particularly nice coat stand took her fancy in the hall but this place needed some brightening up! It was pretty dark inside, like a constant dusk. Darius walked her through the maze of halls until they reached the bedroom. She didn’t know how far she would take this. She had promised Quinn that she wouldn’t do anything too crazy. This was not a mission to be promiscuous. In the room was a four poster bed. It looked soft, with red covers and pillow cases that matched the rugs on the floorboards. Lux kept finding Darius's eyes on her while she wasn’t looking. His face returned from an expression deep in thought to a smile again when she looked round. He was much older than her, at least fifteen years but she didn’t think him unattractive, a little rough round the edges and battle worn but not her beautiful blue eyed beauty she was in awe of in Demacia. He took a step forward and ran his hand through her hair once again. She smirked and wondered if she should start working her magic on him or leave it till he was more susceptible. The person that it was used on had to be open. However just how open Darius was being who he was, Lux had not fully contemplated yet. Just as she was working through her tactics he gripped his hand in the strands and tugged her sideways off her feet towards the bed.

The pain in her head grew as she was shoved into the post of the bed. Her vision went blurred for a few seconds, she was not prepared for this, and she had not even asked anything. “Darius?” she spluttered as she held her head. “Yes Luxanna?” he replied, a sneer on his lips. It certainly made him much more intimidating. Her own name made her stomach wrench. He was not supposed to know who she was. “What?” she exclaimed surprised, as she shot a confused glare back at him. “Silly little girl, you think I would have the normal wards on my home? Especially when you are a spell thief and can identify when a room has counter measures against your craft? I knew it was you from the first step over the threshold. Your deceiving appearance spells are nothing to Noxus anymore.” Lux tried to bolt over the bed but Darius caught her ankle and dragged her back onto her front. She squealed and thrashed about, her legs kicking her free. Where would she even go? He was by the door and the window was quite clearly blocked with iron rods. He smirked at the trapped girl, the magical spells she was keeping up now coming off. She had no need for it anymore. It was just draining from anything else she wanted to use. She put her hands together, without her light staff she would not be able to do much in the way of focusing the power into damage but she sure could still pack a punch. Her hands suddenly burst with a blinding light that was so bright even she had to screw her eyes shut as she moved around the room. “Bitch!” Darius exclaimed rubbing his own eyes in pain. She was next to him now, hand almost at the door knob but he swung around with such force she ended up smacking against the door with a loud thud. It had knocked the wind out of her. She sunk down coughing and wheezing to get some much needed air into her lungs. No wonder Darius could wield such a large axe with little effort. Everything was spinning. Sickness caught in her throat. She was shivering from shock from the impact. “Bad girl... What would your brother think,” he chuckled. Lux put her hand into the folds of her clothing and placed her fingers on the marble sized orb. With the last of her light magic she funnelled it into the tiny sphere which shattered into dust. Then the world went black.

~~~~~~~

"No! Let me go! I am not going tell you anything!” Lux yelled from her tight bindings seated in the centre of a room. The ropes had rubbed her wrists red raw. Her skin had peeled and engrained into the twisted fibres. An acrid smell of sweat and blood filled the cell, permeating the stagnant air, "oh is that so..?" Darius smirked. "Come on Luxanna. Do I need to step up my game and use more force on the pretty lady? Ruin that skin of yours with more cuts, bruises... bite marks? Since our little escapade didn’t seem to rock you from your pedestal." Lux shuddered, remembering his hands all over her and made a veracious attempt at rebellion as she spat blood at his face. The red splatter streaked his cheek. It just made him happy and satisfied to be tainted by his enemy’s blood, especially when he was in control. She hurt at her very core. It was hazy but she could still remember him between her legs. His fingers had dug into her thighs; he had torn what was hers away from her. She sneered and chuckled sadly to herself, "you’re going to have to kill me first". He bobbled his head as she talked to mock her and got out a creased handkerchief from his pocket, wiping the red fluid off of his skin. "Tut tut tut," he said and slapped her hard with the back of his knuckles, which left four red lines on her painfully contorted face. Her head was spinning yet again, her previous concussion had still not subsided. It took a few seconds before the ringing in her ears stopped but the churning feeling in her stomach yet again remained. "Not till you tell me why you were in Noxus, ooh and if you want to die that badly, I’ll do you the grace of making it quick once I-" his voice was instantly louder and angrier than before, "-get the fucking information!" She shuddered as the man grabbed a metal hook from the table, scraping over the surface of the wood. The sound guttered through the air. "You know what I am going to do with this Lux?" he asked grinning, suddenly in a friendly tone, "I am going to bury this deep into your arm, but that is not all I am going to do, I have more of these... lovely hooks, and they are going to be dug further and further into the middle more... vital... parts of your body that I have already got to play with". She had no doubt why he was also in charge of interrogations but Lux held fast, shaking but not giving up. "Once they are in my little pretty, I am going to rip them out. One. By. One." Darius’s smile grew as he scraped the cold iron down her arm to her wrist and shoved it hard through skin and muscle, which made her scream and hiss in agony. 

"Tell me this, Lux, Miss Crownguard, why did you come to Noxus? Are there any more spies with you? I can do this all night you know," a playful, musical tone rung. The girl breathed heavily, starting to sweat as she held her silence, "No? Ok..." another hook clanked off the table. She opened her mouth too slow as he cut her off, "Uh oh... too late..." he mused, grabbed her other wrist firmly. In a brutally swift motion he did the same again, penetrating her once attractive pale skin. "Since the metals in the way, you won’t bleed to death... leaving me to do this for as long as I want..." he chuckled. Another and another were dug methodically into the woman’s flesh till six, three in each arm had been applied. The girl lulled her head in a daze, panted heavily and rolled her eyes in half consciousness. "Come on Luxanna, we aren’t even half way through yet...just give up cause it’s time for another on-”

"Stop!" she screamed with the last of her energy, "I-I’ll tell you," Darius smiled, "at last," he exclaimed, and came in closer, eager not to miss a word. "For Demacia," she choked through a blood filled mouth. A large unsatisfied sneer slithered across his face as she whispered. "Urgh, stupid bitch..." Defeated she hung her head, she was too important for him to kill but she was exhausted. His shoulders rose into a comical shrug, "You really are an insolent little child.” Many before her had broken much sooner. The girls blackened blood shot eyes widened with fear when he put his face right in front of hers so he was the only one she could see. "I am having too much fun with you! And I would love to see the look on your brothers face when your body is dumped at the gates, but you got me Lux, if I disposed of you now, that would send Noxus into war, and that would not be good for either of us," the man laughed, “I will have someone tend to you, make sure you are kept alive, for the time being anyway.” He wiped the blood off of his hands onto a towel and snickered to himself. “I’ll find the other Demacian spy, the golden girl would never have been sent in without back up. When I do, I will make sure you get to watch.”


	10. A Bird and a Pool of Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not completing this sooner. I lost motivation completely. I was making my Zed cosplay in the time I wasn't at work and even though I had a fair bit done already, no one really wanted to read this to check it. So sorry if it sucks. There's only a few more chapters left. You'll probably hate me at the end but you'll have a choice to skip a certain chapter which will be put up as a warning in the chapter summary rather than as a title so to not give anything away.

Quinn stopped across from the brothel. The women were even trading in the street... This was a sick place, how did Lux even stand it? The debaucheries being conducted for all to see repulsed her. A deep breath later and she had plucked up the courage to stride across the dirt path towards them. Two of the girls instantly came to meet her. One was a blonde, and the other a red head. They were pretty. Both dressed in little more than underwear Quinn had never thought unclad women would be so intimidating. “Haven’t seen you before honey” the blonde cooed to her in a high voice.   
“Work or pleasure baby? Or is your man inside for some fun?” she winked. Of course he wasn’t. He probably came here before she even knew of this place though. Quinn shook the stray thought aside. “No...Um, my friend told me she would be here, she just started working, I... wanted to know how she was doing”, Quinn replied. Both girls looked at each other and raised their brows in knowing. “...What?” Quinn asked.   
“Babe, your ‘friend’, if it’s who I’m thinking of, got the big fish today,” the red head smirked, “I’m jealous.”  
“Half the girls in here are jealous Sylv, you aren’t the only one”  
“Big fish? Who is this ‘big fish’?” Quinn asked quickly before the girls kept talking between themselves.  
They both turned to her, looking down their noses at her almost as if to snub her in Lux’s stead, “Darius baby, you’ve obviously heard of him, big, strong and handsome oh, and a leader of our army.”

Quinn’s eyes widened. There was a knot in her stomach. Her face luckily looked more like dumbfounded surprise than nervous shock to the girls who laughed and put a heavy hand on her shoulder. The twinge of pain sent through her back was enough to snap her back to reality. “Darius... Wow... She’s so lucky”.  
“I know right? Nnng what I would give~” Sylv said before she bit her lip.  
Quinn had to stop herself from laughing. Darius was a monster. At least that was what she got from studying his files back in Demacia. He was ruthless, believed only in the Noxian cause; blood that was shed was to serve Noxus. An injury did not mean you could settle back into a nice little livelihood, it meant working around it or death.  
“Has she come back yet?” Quinn asked, the question now concerned the girls as her voice seemed more urgent than Quinn wanted to let on. “....Uh... Not that I’ve seen? She’s not in trouble is she? Partner find out she’s here?”  
“She did say something about someone, mentioned his blue eyes”  
Blue eyes? Yes, she knew exactly who Lux had talked about. Jarvan was her little crush, okay big crush. “Oh no, actually, yes I need to collect her, her fiancé wishes to have her back, he’s not angry, he’s...” Quinn struggled to find the right words to make up Lux’s dream about Jarvan on the spot. Instead she opted for weaving her own, it may sound more sincere. “He loves her very much and does not wish any harm to come to her. He just wishes to have her in his arms again...”   
The girls smirked. “I’m pretty sure they went back to his manor,” the blond one suggested, “it’s about thirty minutes walk from here, that way”. Her slender finger pointed in the direction of the centre of town. Quinn had come from the other side making her route a large wiggly right angle, the slowest way she could have taken. She cursed herself and her limited knowledge of her colleague’s covert operations. "I'll be off then, now I know where she is."  
"Be careful babe, I'm sure he wouldn't be happy about someone walking in on him."  
"Or maybe he'd ask you to join in, you’re a pretty one."  
Quinn smiled awkwardly. There was only one person she wanted to share her bed with and it certainly was not him! She wondered if Lux was okay. Clearly the Crownguard wasn't if she needed immediate extraction. Quinn could only hope that it wasn't as severe as the scenarios her mind wove...

~~~

Evening had begun to set in. As the light dwindled, Quinn’s anxiousness rose.  
She scouted the building as she once did for Talon’s house. The windows were barred. Obviously there was a running theme with Noxians. Make your house a prison, not so people cannot get out, but to make sure people cannot get in. Both Quinn and Talon had done a lot of climbing in windows over the past few days. She supposed that the bars were definitely due. It was sad to think they HAD to put such precautions in but it seemed reasonable. This place was a fortress. Quinn could not just go through the door and if there was no opening to climb through, she would make one. She whistled and waited. “Please”, she whispered. The great Demacian eagle swooped down but not on her location. He knew better than that. Valor hopped across the floor and squawked. “I need you to damage the bars, I’ll squeeze through” she said to him. The bird made a cackling sound and Quinn frowned, “Valor, I am not fat...” The bird squawked again and with a powerful beat of his wings ascended. The creature circled around and once he had found the optimum trajectory he thrust forward. His agile wings tapered back to give him the most speed, only righting himself slightly to grab the iron bars with his talons. He was a large bird, able to put a lot of force into his hit. The bar bent under his velocity and he let go as soon as he was past. The second hit was a swift as the first. The bird flew in the opposite direction and slammed into the adjacent bar. This one was ripped off entirely; Shoddy workmanship. Valor squawked and Quinn shook her head and narrowed her eyes at him. Valor made one last dive towards the window. The last bar was knocked into a curve. It was perfect. Just enough space to squeeze through. Quinn smiled as Valor went past the window one final time. He was making sure his handiwork would suffice for his human companion. 

There was a split second before Quinn realised what had happened. 

In a puff of feathers Valor was dragged into the window by a large axe. “No!” she shouted. She now did not have the advantage of stealth, not that a very large bird flying around was very stealthy in the first place... Stealth had not been her strong suit anyway, it was more fly into the thick of things and bombard with everything she had. She was a scout not an assassin. She knocked her crossbow and headed straight towards the inevitable trap in panic. Memories flooded her. Caleb dying in her arms, the broken bird heaped over a rock in the place, how the mighty Demacian eagle had understood her, how inseparable they became...Like they were twins. 

She knew she had to get Valor back from that cage of a building. It held her friend and partner, her fellow Demacian and it would soon hold her too. She could not let Valor... It did not bare thinking about.

Instincts took over her training. She ran forward and vaulted herself up the wall faster than she ever could in a sane mindset. Each hand found its mark on the stonework even with her crossbow ready. It probably was not even possible for her at this speed, not without the huge adrenaline boost from the sight of Valor being hooked by the huge axe. She would not forget the way his neck bent back as the sheer force folded his body around the beard of Darius’s weapon. 

Quinn reached the ledge and pulled through. Feathers scattered the floor inside; drops of blood lined the floor of the otherwise empty of life room. Quinn froze on the ledge as she raised her arm pulling herself in on her side. Pain. She felt pain. Not just emotionally but now she knew she had damaged herself internally. The stab wound Talon had given her dripped though her bandage. It was only now that she was feeling woozy from it. The rush and uncalculated movement had done more than tear the crude bindings. She stepped down into the room. It was a fair size. A table was in front of the window laden with papers much like at the Du Couteau’s house. Valor’s blood stopped just before the door, so did the feathers dislodged from his beautiful wings. Quinn was not thinking straight. Her mind was focused on saving Valor. Even Lux, who was her mission now, had briefly escaped it. 

She staggered forward towards the door. Her eyes were wide and her heart was in her throat. Then she saw him. Darius stepped into view, blocking the low light coming from the hall with his muscular body. He was holding a hessian bag and lifted it with a smirk. “Give him ba-!” Quinn shouted but stopped on her last word. The other of Darius’s hands was holding the sharp edge of his blade against the writhing bag. Her words had caught in her throat. “Tsk, I am assuming you ‘had’ a plan,” Darius mused, “Though I will tell you your new plan. What I want you to do is come with me quietly.” He tapped the bag. Quinn froze. Darius sighed, “Come. Now, I don’t want to get anymore blood on my clothes,” he struggled to keep the small snicker inside. Quinn without thinking raised the bow and shot the knocked arrow into his shoulder. The Noxian grit his teeth and dumped the bag down to break the back of the shaft off. It was all calculated. Quinn went immediately for the bag and he had enough time to smash his fist into her face. There was an audible snap when the knuckles collided with her nose. Blood ran down her face and the back of her throat. Choking she managed to get two words out, “Fuck... You.”

~~~~

When she awoke she was seated opposite Lux with a three metre gap between them. The woman was not her usual self. The light had left her eyes and she certainly was not smiling anymore. “Lux” Quinn called to the shell of the girl she once knew. Something horrific must have happened to knock the wind out of the spell thief. It was the rainbows and sunshine that made her aggravating but she was never dull and always tried to lift everyone’s spirit. “Ah I see you’re awake” Darius smiled, “See Lux, I told you she cares. Now you can watch me interrogate her instead.” Interrogation was not the word Quinn would have used. Torture or sadism would have been better to describe the foul man’s practices.

Darius threw the bag into the centre and laughed when Quinn shook against her bindings. She flicked her eyes around the grey room. This was probably the basement of the house. It was cold, dark and smelt like decaying flesh down here.   
Darius dumped the contents of the bag between the two women. The semblance of a mighty bird dropped out with a thud. Valor sprawled on the floor unable to stand up. He could do little more than flap helplessly until a large leather boot came down and pinned one of his wings to the ground. Quinn went into a blind panic whereas Lux just shut her bruised eyes and began to weep again. "You fucking scum, I'll kill you! I'll fucking kill you!" Quinn screamed at him. She forcefully tugged at the bindings around her wrists and ankles. Even after the short time she had already worn through several layers of skin. "Bastard!"   
His voice was soft and diplomatic to her, "Now that isn't nice, especially when I am giving you the privilege of seeing your friend alive." Darius looked smug. He had a grin plastered over his stubbled chin. Whether he meant Lux or Valor it was the same; they were living right now but they were not 'alive'.   
"So, enough time wasted, Quinn, my dear..."   
"I'm not your dear!"   
"Tsk, well let’s pretend for Valors sake," he smirked and increased the pressure of the boot onto the wing. The bird squawked in pain and tried to peck at his leg but Darius grabbed his neck in one swift motion with his powerful hand. It was surprising how small birds were under their feathers, even birds as large as Valor. Darius’s hand gripped tightly. Each breath from Quinn's avian partner was now laboured. She gritted her teeth and grimaced at the birds’ hisses and chokes. "Now, the Crownguard’s death would spark a war, the birds and even yours is just another casualty. I'm a man of my word, I'll keep you both alive, if you tell me what Jarvan is planning and why he sent spies to Noxus."   
"I don’t know anything about why Lux was here" Quinn growled.   
"Okay, then why were you here?" he asked.   
Her answer did not come quick enough for his liking. He pinched a chunk of soft feathers and jerked his hand back forcefully. Valor screeched. "Stop it you fucking bastard!" Quinn screamed back.   
"Pick up the pace then," he smirked in return. Lux began to murmur. "Don’t tell him" she mumbled. Quinn tore her gaze from the bird to the blonde. Her face was swollen almost to the point her eyes were shut. She looked like she was in a fight with a hive of bees... Bees with boxing gloves. Her clothes were torn and the bare skin of her legs was bruised. There were purple handprints on the inside of her thighs. "D-don’t say anything," the woman breathed. She raised her head and attempted a smile for Quinn. It broke Quinn’s heart to see such a bright girl like this. Lux was younger than her and she would not have wished this on anyone. The girl was only just out of her teens for fuck sake. She now has to deal with this for the rest of her life.

She looked back at Darius who had tilted his head in boredom. She knew what he would rather be doing and the fact he kept such a cool head about this was beyond her. Valor chirped wetly as if his throat was now blocked with liquid. The gargling sounds horrified her. Quinn began to shake. All she could think of was Caleb coughing up the viscous purple and red foam, his limbs jolting through no movement of his own, and his eyes rolling into the back of his head. She remembered him going limp in her arms and it was her fault for not being there with him the whole time. Now she was losing Valor too in front of her eyes. “Come on Quinn, that’s a girl, you know it is for the best, you two can leave and you can go back to scouting out Piltover or something like that,” Darius laughed.  
Quinn clenched her teeth in thought. She did not want her friends to die. “Papers, from the Du Couteau, on the disappearance of Marcus,” she said. She almost sounded defeated as tears ran down her face. “That good enough?!” she yelled, “Or do you want to know why too? Hmmm? The Black Rose, Demacia has been looking into them, sound familiar? Bet you know all about it.” 

This was not even the real reason why she was there, that particular thing had gone on the back burner because they could not find anything on it. It was only a secondary objective. Le Blanc and the other conspirators were too good at cleaning up their tracks. She hoped that her spilling something sensitive but unimportant in the great scheme of things, that would not affect Darius in any way of course, would help. “Why do you think they sent two little girls?” she laughed, “Why not Shauna Vayne? Or someone else more experienced or who can tank this pointless torture. Fiora...”

Darius sighed and crushed a feather between his fingers. He tugged almost in rhythm of the cogs of thought that turned in his head. “Okay” he smirked, “your answer has been noted, and I’ll let you two go.” He seemed sincere but something was off. “What about Lux?” Quinn asked, after all that was why she came here.  
“Oh no ‘darling’” he smiled. It was a twisted pull of his lips that bore teeth. 

 

“I meant you and the little whore~.”

 

Quinn was confused. Her brow furrowed. “What?” she questioned.

 

Darius suddenly jerked the hand that was around Valor’s neck up and forcefully twisted the last cut off screech out of the bird before he fell silent. The Noxian opened his hand and let the limp bird sprawl out onto the floor as if he was nothing but a broken toy. The avian skull hit the concrete with a dull thud. It was bent at a horrific angle. His eyes were still open, glazed over while staring straight at Quinn’s own. He must have pulled very hard because even the skin of Valor's neck had torn. It left his blood to spill freely out in a pool between Quinn and Lux while his heart pulsed it's final beat. 

“NO!” Quinn screamed. She let out a series of almost inhuman moans and cries. She rocked hard against the bindings that cut into her skin. She looked at Lux for help but the blonde could only shake her head and bite her already broken lip.

 

“Singing like a pretty birdie~” Darius mused, “too soon?”


	11. A Conspirator and a Lucky Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Please bear with any mistakes. I wrote bits and bobs for chapters I had not even got to to use when I came to them. This is the start of one of these chapters I'm using stuff for. The next has about 850 words already done. It may be a smaller chapter split into two to get the Demacian Pov again. I will probably edit anything that's wrong later in the week once I have had time away from it.

Talon did not hesitate when he strode towards the brothel. Every step was purposeful and betrayed his determination... To do what; they did not know. The girls tugged on each other and went inside as he approached seeking safety within the building. ‘Why the hell did they have that reaction?’ He thought. His scowl under his hood sent shivers down the last remaining female at the doors back when he reached her. She was a tall woman, taller than he was, broader too. She practically towered over him. The only one left between him and some answers. His jaw hardened. He had already been sent this way and that... Even by children that had tried to run in the alley. The little shits would pay for sending him the wrong way; they lost him precious time... Later. “Where is-” he stopped, they would have used different alias’s. “A woman with a bandage around her chest and shoulder, where is she?” he demanded.  
“Talon, please, we don’t want any trouble” she said back to him.  
“I know she came here looking for her friend. I will still sleep soundly if something was to happen to you, tell me or I will become the problem you are acting like I am.”  
A squeal sounded from behind her and a red head shouted from safety, “She’s at Darius’s place! Just go away!”  
Talon tilted a nod of his head to the large woman, “Now was that so hard?” he growled. A swiftly as he had appeared, he left. Each and every girl was left to gawk at his back. This would be premium gossip for a long time.  


~~~~

Following the information he had got from the girls he made it very swiftly to the building in question, Darius’s lodgings. The battlefield was that brute’s home; this was just a place to seek shelter. It was well fortified. Like Talon’s own abode the entry points into the place were limited. A front and back door, maybe something on the roof... Bars on every windo- Talon’s eyes lingered on one in particular. The metal was broken and bowed. That was not like Darius. He may be a thug but he was meticulous when it came to forward planning. This however made Talon’s sharp eyes narrow. Perhaps that would give enough of an entrance for him. Perhaps it was a trap; he looked to the floor, or had been a trap. Feathers dusted the ground. This was not some pigeon, some were very large, flight feathers and bloodied down. “Valor” he murmured as he picked up the crushed plume.  
He scaled the wall with no effort and squeezed himself between the previously damaged bars on the windows. He was by no means as slippery as his sister but made use of his slender frame. Even so it took quite a force to drag his form through the bowed metal. Once inside he rubbed over the painful area where each and every rib was scraped. Perhaps the gap was a little small he mused... Talon kept to the shadows of the darkened room. It was oddly quiet here, slightly disconcerting at best. His first thought was right. He was sure this was where Quinn was, as there were feathers everywhere in here too. The ‘wings of Demacia’ he mused. Quinn was here after her dumb bird. 

Valor was injured. The fresh blood stains on the carpet confirmed his suspicions. He bent down and touched the drops that had begun small at the window and grew larger as they got to the hall. They were dry and showed a definite trajectory of movement. They stopped at the door though, and abruptly. He frowned once his eyes tracked the splatter closer. They were from two separate donors. One trail had longer tails than the other. The angle of the first came from the window at speed but got very low to the floor before stopping. The second was moving slower and came from a higher point. He knew what this meant. An injured Quinn had followed her injured bird into the lion’s den. Both stopped almost in the same place which puzzled him. What had happened to Valor? Bagged up like a kitten about to be drowned? And Quinn, either she found something to cover her wound in the area between the window and the door, or someone had intercepted her when she had got to the threshold of the hall. The former, though much more favourable, did not seem as feasible. It looked like a normal office. Why would there be anything of a medical nature here? He had to get this right before rushing in. “Shit” Talon breathed. He had an overwhelming wave of need to protect the person he cared about. ‘Stupid. You fell for a Demacian and now you are entering a general’s home to free someone who should have just been killed just for setting foot inside the region.’ 

He left for the hall. His footfalls were light along the red carpet runners of the floor. The man moved swiftly with master precision to every action, be it the turn of his head or the turn on the balls of his feet.  
Talon jolted when he heard a shriek. His eyes scanned each door. He moved quickly, silently, towards the sound down the stairs. It was Quinn. He could hear her desperate mewls, the anguished moans, and they were getting louder the closer he got. They were still muffled. She was below him. His heart was providing a drumbeat in his ears. ‘Basement, where is the FUCKING door!’ he thought. 

He was so close. He had found the door with quite a bit of ease after his initial panic. Of course it was the one with a guard outside of it... He threw out his blade as he turned the corner after the briefest of peeks. It hit its mark. It had sliced straight through the man’s neck and had been pinpointed to hit his vocal cords to cease any sound except some quiet gargles as he drowned in his own blood. The man grabbed his bleeding throat. Dark red fluid spurted from between his fingers. All he could do was gape his mouth like a fish out of water. Talon vaulted forward and went for the critical strike, straight into the guard’s temple with a small knife. He was dead instantly from the hit. A small grace Talon had given him. How he wished he could make them all suffer. He helped the guard slump down to the floor silently.

Talon entered the basement door and descended the stairs. He could hear Quinn clearly now. What he saw when he got to the bottom was Darius looking rather smug standing between the two girls, Valor in front of him. He was picking a stray feather off of his uniform. "Hello Master Du Couteau," he mocked, "Come to save your Demacian pets? No Katarina with you? I would like to see her again you know, shame she’s got such a chip on her shoulder all the time when we talk. I would love to make her mine too.” He grinned right at the assassin. What had he done to them? What did he mean by ‘too’? If he had touched her Talon would kill the bastard and dance on his grave! If he EVER touched his sister... Talon knew Katarina spoke to him; after all she conspired with the army on several occasions as the head of the Du Couteau family but that cretin was having those disgusting thoughts about her. 

Quinn cried in dismay, “Fuck you!” Talons eyes were drawn instantly to her and then to the bird laying lifeless on the floor and Lux. The smaller man growled and leapt from the staircase towards him only to be grappled in by Darius's large hand. Darius was much faster than he looked. The force was jarring and caused Talon to exhale with a pained ‘hmpf’. Quinn continued to yell expletives at Darius while he held him off the floor by the collar of his shirt and jacket. The Noxian blade in his palm already, he shoved it forward just under Darius's sternum. Darius gasped and stepped back but did not let go. If anything his grip became tighter on Talon’s clothing. 

The smile then spread across his lips... 

Talon twisted the knife but found himself confused. "Do you really think I wouldn't take precautions?" Darius mused as he lifted his shirt to show a stab proof vest underneath. He proceeded to thump his free arm straight at Quinn’s head and knocked her chair back with the huge force of impact. It was punishment for Talon’s insolence at trying to stab him. She hit the ground with a loud thud. Quinn’s head rebounded against the concrete, a small pool of blood forming in the woman’s hair and trickling out onto the rough ground. She was still. It appeared she was breathing but unconscious. "Look what you made me do!" the man exclaimed sarcastically panicked then laughed, “On a serious note that was a good try, shame that I’m not interested in boys like you or I’d gladly show you a little of their treatment.” Darius gestured to the women and winked. His words dug deep into Talon. Did he find it fun antagonising his killer before being slaughtered by him? Talon was not one for many words, especially to those who do not deserve them but he had to say something to this bastard.  
“Have you anything to offer but weakness?”  
He spat at Darius’s face as he stared him down with eyes that could kill a man at ten paces. “Standing behind your title, you’re privileged scum, nothing more. I will enjoy killing you”.  
“Are you done?” Darius asked. The sharp question caused Talon’s eyes to narrow. “Because I’ve had enough of you little,” he punched him in the gut; Talon gasped for air, “Fucking,” he punched him again, this time Talon’s head spun with the sick feeling of his organs being rearranged; “Cunts,” this hit had the most power and completely knocked the wind out of the now rag doll of a man, “Spitting in my face.” 

Lux began to laugh from her chair. This really tickled her funny bone. She started slow and then howled manically. She had done the same, she was glad it had irritated him that much. This laughter irked Darius just enough to take his concentration from the assassin and for Talon to stab where he knew Darius had no armour, his neck. It was not a fatal wound but the deep gouge out of his neck meant he had to drop him. Talon crumpled to the floor and barely held down his last meal. Darius hissed and pressed his hand against the wound, “You son of a bitch, you’ll pay for that.”  
“Will I?” Talon coughed. He spat out some blood and struggled to his feet.  
“The funny thing was, I was going to send them back as a message instead of killing them, however, no one cares about you.”  
“I do,” a feminine voice came from behind them on the stairs. “Darius you sick fuck, I suggest you piss off before I make that pin prick of yours a new trophy on the wall of the guard hall.” Katarina growled at him and walked forward, defiant as always.  
“Kat”  
“Shut it,” she snapped back.  
“Get your whore out of here. I’ll make sure you won’t be prosecuted for attacking a general doing his job. Or for abetting a criminal spy.”  
Talon hated her for saying it. Torturing two Demacian spies was exactly that, his job.  
“Darius, get your ass upstairs before you bleed to death,” she grimaced. The woman looked as if she was at the end of her tether. Her eyes said she did not want to do this. It pained her to let such violence, especially against Talon go unpunished.  
The red headed woman and the brute went up the stairs and left the basement. Talon dropped to his knees and checked her pulse, concern now very visible on his usually stoic features. "Quinn?" he asked quietly, dirtied fingers tentatively touching her neck. It took some time of anxious concentration but he found it. There was a weak pulse and his shoulders dropped in relief. He tapped her face gently and checked the wound on her head but she did not move. Lux’s heart fell when Quinn did not get up. He looked up at the blonde and stood. Lux squeaked from her chair, her eyes were on Talon who was now stumbling towards her with a knife. 

There was a tear running down Lux's blood splattered cheek. She was afraid again. Like was going to be the finishing blow. Even with what she had seen between him and Darius. Talon slowed his pace. She knew he was part of the Du Couteau family and that he was a master assassin. She could not defend herself in this state against a child so she certainly could not against a trained killer. He had to approach her calmly. "Luxanna?" he confirmed. After what she had been through this woman would have nightmares for years to come. He rounded the chair and rubbed the blade on the bindings that held her wrists. She flopped from her seat immediately and crawled towards the door once he had cut her free. Talon went back to Quinn’s side and cut her free as well. How could this happen to his beautiful Quinn. The sadness and anger was welling up inside. She was safe but there was nothing he could do for her.  
Lux shook as his eyes flicked back to her and stared at her in the corner by the stairs. “Don’t run,” he said softly while putting pressure on Quinn’s injuries. "I need your help Lux, to heal her, shield her, something.”  
She shook her head, "I'm t-too weak" she managed to splutter out in reply. He grit his teeth, "Damn it try!" The woman jumped at his raised voice and almost burst into tears. She just about managed to hold it together but could she really not do anything? He had made a mistake by demanding. He was in such a fluster himself. "Try... please..." he asked softer. A Noxian begging a Demacian for help... How could he stoop so low? Lux bit her lip. 'Try, just try' he thought. 

Talon lifted the limp body and dragged her over to Lux. He loomed over her like a keen eyed vulture scrutinizing every move as if it was her last. It must have been off putting until she saw him tightly holding Quinn's hand just as tense as she was and she relaxed a little. She placed her hands on the fresh wound on Quinn’s head. Blood oozed over her delicate fingers. Her breathing quickened as she struggled to muster magic. It was difficult, draining and debilitating for her but a small grey glow of light finally showed from her hand. Lux seemed relieved, "I don't know how l-long it will hold" she panted. Lux took her hand away and a small shield was left in its place only large enough to stop any more bleeding. "Thank you" Talon murmured. It was sincere. The woman nodded, understanding and was grateful for the child Quinn used to play with all those years ago in the woods. 

"We need to get you both back to Demacia" he said.


End file.
